I 


Abraham  Lincoln 

in  Peoria,  Illinois 


FROM    A    PAINTING    BY    CHARLES    OVERALL 

Here,  on  the  steps  of  the  old  Peoria  County  Court  House  begins  the  true  story  of 

Abraham  Lincoln's  great  career 


A  New  Lincoln  Book  With 

Material  Never  Before 

Published 

"ABRAHAM  LINCOLN 
IN  PEORIA,  ILLINOIS" 


Over  300  pages  of  intimate 
history  and  anecdotes  told 
with  a  remarkably  fine  atten- 
tion to  detail  and  presenting 
numerous  important  histori- 
cal side-lights. 

The  book  is  built  around 
Lincoln's  visits  to  Peoria  and 
his  famous  reply  to  Judge 
Douglas  on  the  night  of  Oc- 
tober 16,  1854 — the  speech 
that  is  considered  by  many 
historians  as  the  turning  point 
in  his  life,  and  which  even- 
tually made  him  president. 

Go  with  Lincoln  on  the  old 
Peoria  land  trails,  as  he  rode 
the  circuit,  and  you  will  vis- 
ion him  as  he  lived  and 
dreamed. 

When  you  have  purchased 
this  volume,  read  the  tremen- 
dously important  speech  Lin- 
coln made  in  Peoria,  Illinois, 
on  the  night  of  October  16, 
1854,  and  you  will  know 
Lincoln  as  he  was  in  1854. 
The  principles  there  laid 
down  remained  with  him  un- 
til the  very  end. 

The  rare  and  exclusive  fea- 
tures of  this  book  will  make 
it  a  most  treasured  volume. 

LINCOLN  HISTORICAL 

PUBLISHING  CO. 

424  Fulton  Street 

Peoria,      -      -      Illinois 


LINCOLN  ROOM 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 
LIBRARY 


MEMORIAL 

the  Class  of  1901 

founded  by 

HARLAN  HOYT  HORNER 

and 

HENRIETTA  CALHOUN  HORNER 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2012  with  funding  from 

University  of  Illinois  Urbana-Champaign 


http://archive.org/details/abrahamlincolnin01bryn 


EDWARD    J.    JACOB 

PRINTER 

PEORIA,  ILL.,  U.  S.  A. 


Abraham  ffitttrnln 


In 


ftenria,  JUtnote 


i.  OL  irgnrr 


Ifxrat  iEMttmt,  ©rtubrr  IB,  1024 

Cintftrd  in   Hill  (£iunru 

gu>ranb  lEnlargrfc  Ibittun.  (irtober  10.  192H 

Cuuitrn   In    1 1HU1   (injur!! 


*' J  mm  ani  Ijearb  iCinroltt 
an&  flauglaa  uiti^n  a  bng' 


COPYRIGHT    1926 
BY  THE 

LINCOLN  HISTORICAL   PUBLISHING  CO. 

PEORIA,  ILLINOIS 

PRINTED   IN   THE    UNITED   STATES   OP    AMERICA 


C47 


OCTOBER  SIXTEEN,   EIGHTEEN 

HUNDRED  FIFTY-FOUR,  WAS 

A  MEMORABLE  DAY  IN 

PEORIA.    NONE  APPREHENDED 

IT  THEN,  AND  BUT  FEW 

APPRECIATE  IT  NOW— 

SEVENTY  YEARS  AFTER. 

(FROM  FIRST  EDITION— OCTOBF.R   16,    1924) 


Abraham  IGtnrnln 


'Jll?  waurfc  no  ar?ptr?,  iuor?  no  rrotun, 
No  aria  ignoble  mamb  i|tB  baga; 

An&  wfyrn  in  rloofo  Ijta  aun  went  bown 

®1jf  worlb,  in  barkuraa,  aang  Ijia  praia?! 

—S.  Patterson  Prowse 

Late  Librarian  of  the  Citi)  of  Peoria 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN  DELIVERING  HIS  FAMOUS  SPEECH  ON  THE  NIGHT  OF 
OCTOBER   16,    1854,   AT  PEORIA,   ILLINOIS 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN 


'RISE  to  :the  height  of  a  gener- 
ation OF  FREE  MEN,  WORTHY  OF 
A  FREE  GOVERNMENT,  THE  PEOPLES' 
WILL.  IS  THE  ULTIMATE  LAW  FOR  ALL.' 
—ABRAHAM  LINCOLN. 


FOREWORD 

(Second  Edition) 

October  16th,  1854,  at  Peoria,  Lincoln  and 
Douglas  met  in  debate.  It  was  the  good  fortune 
of  the  writer,  then  a  boy  and  an  ardent  Douglas 
"man,"  to  have  been  present.  Telling  of  the  inci- 
dent one  day  to  the  publisher  the  latter  so  persis- 
tently urged  that  it  be  written  up  that  consent  was 
finally  given,  with  the  result  that  upon  the  70th 
anniversary  of  the  occasion  a  beautiful  little 
volume  was  gotten  out,  "One  Hundred  Copies, 
privately  printed,  October  Sixteenth,  Nineteen 
Twenty-four.   Not  for  sale." 

The  writer  cannot  refrain  from  publicly  ex- 
pressing his  surprise  and  pleasure  at  the  reception 
it  has  received  and  with  the  requests  for  general 
distribution.  Complying  with  this  demand  this 
second  edition  has  been  issued.  It  contains  the  first 
edition  complete  and  additional  matter  such  as  pic- 
tures of  Peoria  as  it  then  appeared — early  steam- 
boats— the  first  railroad  train  to  enter  town  over 
the  Bureau  Valley  road  (now  the  Chicago,  Rock 
Island  and  Pacific)  from  Chicago,  which  incident 
occurred  November  7th,  1854,  three  weeks  after 
the  Lincoln-Douglas  debate  of  October  16th — 
hotels  where  entertainment  was  furnished  for  man 
and  beast — a  picture  of  Peoria  in  1832  when  Lin- 
coln passed  through  on  foot  upon  his  return  from 
the  Black  Hawk  war — the  old  market  house — 


also,  after  a  long  search,  we  have  found  a  partial 
report  of  Judge  Douglas'  address,  preceding  Mr. 
Lincoln's  on  October  1 6,  1854.  As  far  as  we  have 
been  able  to  ascertain,  this  is  the  first  time  it  has 
been  published  in  any  book.  All  these  create  an 
atmosphere  from  which  may  be  formed  a  picture 
which  it  is  confidently  believed  will  prove  of  inter- 
est and  value  to  the  ever  increasing  army  of  stu- 
dents of  the  stirring  times  which  preceded  our 
National  recognition  and  gave  liberty  to  every 
man,  woman  and  child,  regardless  of  race,  creed 
or  color,  throughout  the  land,  and  united  all  in 
ever  increasing  love  for  the  flag. 

Lincoln's  speech  as  given  in  the  first  edition  is 
taken  from  the  Peoria  Transcript.  Upon  Lin- 
coln's return  to  Springfield  he,  three  days  later, 
wrote  out  and  revised  it,  desiring  no  doubt  to  give 
a  more  clear  and  not  to  be  misunderstood  expres- 
sion of  his  views  upon  the  questions  then  at  issue. 
In  this  volume  is  given  the  reporter's  copy  as  it 
appeared  in  the  first  edition  as  well  as  the  address 
as  personally  revised  by  Mr.  Lincoln  upon  his 
return  to  Springfield. 

Allowance  must  be  made  for  possible  errors  in 
the  reporter's  copy,  for  shorthand  was  then  but 
little  in  vogue  and  the  speech  was  probably  taken 
in  long  hand  at  the  time  delivered,  but  upon  care- 
ful reading  I  cannot  help  but  think  it  accurately 
reported. 


In  a  letter  from  Henry  B.  Rankin,  who  was  a 
law  student  in  Lincoln's  office,  he  says,  "Days 
and  nights  through  tedious  weeks,  he  (Lincoln) 
was  in  the  State  Library  among  office  files  of  papers 
and  campaign  scrap  books,  composing  the  manu- 
script copy  of  the  Cooper  Institute  speech.  Those 
weeks  made  him  President.  Events  following  the 
speech  swiftly  changed  the  current  of  United 
States  history.  That  speech  began  its  growth 
with  Lincoln  in  Peoria  in  1854. 

To  the  present  generation  the  picture  would 
not  be  complete  without  visioning  the  state  of  the 
public  mind  at  the  time.  I  have  therefore  added 
local  incidents,  scenes  and  other  matter  that  may 
serve  to  a  clearer  understanding  and  appreciation 
of  the  time  of  which  I  write.  That  the  critical 
reader  and  scholar  will  find  imperfections  in  con- 
struction and  expression  of  which  the  writer  is 
unconscious,  I  do  not  doubt,  but  the  statement  of 
facts  cannot  be  contradicted.  The  age  of  fifteen 
found  me  casting  aside  school  books  to  enlist  as  a 
soldier  in  the  Civil  War,  one  of  a  hundred  and 
twenty-five  thousand  boys  of  sixteen  years  and 
under  who  followed  the  leadership  of  Abraham 
Lincoln.  Lack  of  schooling  must  therefore  serve 
as  my  excuse  for  faulty  construction  and  diction. 

In  the  reading  may  you  find  some  of  the  happi- 
ness I  have  found  in  the  writing. 

October  16,  1926.  B.  C.  BRYNER. 


\     WI  SO  0  KHf  S'J.H.. 


rt?.ri iy 


.«*&       ;  C 


-^ 


^ts  %£ 


On«w 


OtettvW-6 


MAP  Of 


i,t,t  MO-IS. 


KENTUCKY. 


OLD  ILLINOIS  LAND  TRAILS,   BEFORE  THE  TIME  OF  THE  RAILROADS 

AND  THE  HARD  ROADS.     THIS  MAP  REPRODUCED 

FROM  "THE  PEORIA  RECORD"    185  7. 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


O'ER  OLD  PEORIA  LAND  TRAILS  WITH 
LINCOLN 

Let  us  unfetter  fancy  and  wander  over  old  trails 
with  one  whose  humanity  and  love  are  the  blessed 
legacy  of  the  world's  most  favored  nation. 

Mid  sunshine  and  storm — heat  and  cold — dust 
and  wind — biting  frost  and  pitiless  summer  suns, 
Lincoln  went  these  ways  through  toil  and  hard- 
ship, learning  in  the  school  of  experience  lessons 
untaught  in  academy  or  college. 

A  tall,  ungainly  figure  on  horseback  or  hunched 
up  in  a  buggy,  his  knees  and  chin  in  close  com- 
panionship, with  perhaps  a  fellow  traveler  by  his 
side — the  way  beguiled  by  stories  of  inimitable 
wit  and  humor — broad  at  times — but  always  re- 
plete with  wisdom  and  kindliness.  Across  virgin 
prairies  abloom  with  bluebells — through  the  dells 
of  the  Mackinaw,  by  the  banks  of  the  Illinois, 
wading  sparkling  streams  alive  with  leaping  life — 
climbing  hills,  enfolding  lakes  that  mirror  en- 
circling heights.  Squirrels  chattered  and  sprang 
from  limb  to  limb  of  trees  laden  with  acorn 
and  hickory  nut.  Birds  sang  and  wild  fowl  sped 
to  cover  unharmed,  for  Lincoln  carried  no  gun, 
as  was  the  wont  of  other  travelers.    His  great 

15 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


tender  heart  loved  all  creatures  and  all  were  safe 
at  his  hands.  Was  it  not  in  the  notes  of  the  sing- 
ing birds,  the  whispering  leaves  and  the  flow  of 
waters,  he  learned  the  music  of  those  words  that 
shall  live  till  prairie  and  forest  and  wind  and  wave 
shall  be  no  more? 

When  alone  did  he  meditate  upon  ills  he  would 
suppress,  did  he  note  that  nature's  fruits  ripened 
in  their  season  and  did  he  learn  that  philosophy 
which  bade  him  bide  the  season  and  wait  the 
opportunity  that  came  at  last? 

This  page  of  my  book  I  dedicate  to  dreams;  all 
others  are  given  to  facts,  unadorned,  yet  beautiful 
to  those  who  love  a  manhood  of  childish  sim- 
plicity and  love  supreme. 

May  future  generations  follow  the  trails  that 
Lincoln  trod! 


16 


Chapter  One 

October  16th,  1854,  was  a  memorable  day  in 
Peoria.  None  apprehended  it  then,  and  but  few 
appreciate  it  now — seventy  years  after. 

It  was  the  starting  point  of  the  race  which  won 
for  Abraham  Lincoln  the  Presidency  of  the  United 
States,  brought  on  the  War  of  the  Rebellion, 
led  to  the  death  of  a  half  million  men  and  twice 
that  number  disabled  by  disease  and  wounds, 
made  free  men  and  women  of  four  million  slaves, 
and  desolated  almost  every  home  in  the  land.  Four 
years  of  human  sacrifice  and  suffering!  At  every 
fireside  heartstrings  were  broken  by  the  fingers  of 
Death.  From  a  population  of  thirty-four  million, 
a  million  and  one-half  were  taken. 

The  monument  in  the  Court  House  square  bears 
the  names  of  five  hundred  and  twenty-five  boys 
from  Peoria  who  died  between  April,  1861,  and 
April,  1865,  and  Peoria  had  then  less  than  one- 
tenth  its  present  population.  And  the  starting 
point  of  it  all  was  at  Peoria,  that  16th  day  of 
October,  1854.  As  the  evening  shadows  gather,  I 
wander  through  the  halls  of  memory  and  behold  a 
picture  of  those  earlier  days.  Peoria — "beautiful 
view" — for  such  is  the  meaning  of  the  word  in  the 
a  17 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


language  of  the  Pottawattomies — only  a  village — 
bluffs  covered  with  oak  and  hickory — under- 
growth of  hazel  brush  and  wild  blackberry — ra- 
vines in  which  the  wolf  still  lingered.  At  the  nar- 
rows butternuts,  wild  grapes,  plums,  pecans,  per- 
simmons and  pawpaws.  Rope  ferries  at  opposite 
ends  of  the  lake — wild  ducks  floating  upon  the 
river's  bosom.  Clouds  of  black  birds  darkened  the 
skies.  The  honk  of  the  wild  geese  winging  their 
way  north  or  south  in  endless  file  the  whole  day 
long  foretold  the  season's  change.  Morning  and 
evening  heard  the  drumming  of  partridges,  or  the 
call  of  the  quail  in  back  yards  and  streets. 

Political  times:  music  of  bands — of  drum  and 
fife  with  drummers  and  fifers  garbed  in  colonial 
costume — the  "Spirit  of  '76."  Campaign  songs — 
flags  mounted  on  saplings  with  bunches  of  leaves 
at  the  top.  Only  thirty-four  stars  then.  Floats 
with  pretty  girls  in  white  representing  Columbia 
and  the  several  states.  I  see  them  at  night  upon  the 
floor  of  my  home — sleeping  upon  improvised  beds 
upon  the  floor — my  mother  cooking  for  all.  Not 
a  completed  railroad  in  Peoria,  October  16th, 
1854.  No  telegraph — no  sewing  machine — no 
telephone — tallow  candles  for  illumination — but- 
ter, eggs  and  milk  lowered  into  the  cistern  to  keep 
fresh.     And  yet  all  of  the  comforts  and  luxury  of 

18 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


today  were  born  of  the  brain  and  brawn  of  that 
and  the  succeeding  generation. 

Amidst  such  scenes  Lincoln  and  Douglas  first 
met  in  debate  in  Peoria,  October  1 6th,  1854. 


19 


Chapter  Two 

Drown' s  Peoria  City  Record  of  March  4th, 
1854,  gives  the  following  description  of  Peoria  at 
that  date: 

"PEORIA  IN  1854,  though  only  in  her  35th 
year,  we  will  venture  to  say  is  the  most  beautiful 
City  in  the  West,  its  location  is  not  surpassed  by 
any,  for  the  God  of  Nature  in  his  wisdom  formed 


THE    "OCEAN  WAVE"    PACKET   BOAT   PLYING   THE 
ILLINOIS  RIVER  IN    1854 

its  site,  so  that  there  never  was  nor  is  there  any 
occasion  of  expending  a  thousand  dollars  to  make 
every  street  in  the  whole  City  passable.  Still,  our 
City  Fathers'  are,  and  have  been  for  a  year  or 
two  past,  endeavoring  to  improve  upon  what  God, 
after  he  had  made  it,  'saw  that  it  was  good';  but 
improvement  is  the  order  of  the  day.  A  few  years 
since  and  most  of  our  river  towns,  now  swelling 

21 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


into  cities,  were  insignificant  hamlets  with  a  mea- 
gre backwoods  population.  Many  of  my  readers 
will  recall  to  mind,  with  a  smile  of  satisfied  pride, 
the  local  and  business  condition  of  our  TOWN, 
when  the  business  was  confined  to  the  barter  of 
hazel  nuts  and  eggs  for  buttons,  beads,  powder 
and  shot.   Miniature  stores,  based  on  a  capital  of  a 


THE  "PRAIRIE  STATE,"   AN  ILLINOIS  RIVER  PACKET  BOAT  IN   1854 

few  hundreds,  consisting  mainly  of  a  chest  of  tea, 
a  sack  of  coffee,  a  -keg  of  three-picayune  James' 
river  tobacco,  a  barrel  of  'bald  face,'  and  a  dozen 
butcher  knives.  And  then  again,  the  'country 
folks,'  after  they  had  been  to  'town'  and  in- 
dulged a  little  in  the  'critur,'  about  once  a  week, 

22 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

must  have  a  little  more  indulgence  in  target  dem- 
onstrations at  a  candle  by  night,  or  at  the  body  of 
a  turkey  drawn  with  chalk  on  an  'oak-punch- 
eon/ after  they  had  got  through  with  'trading' 
and  ready  to  go  home.  Such  like  amusements  com- 
prised a  good  part  of  the  time  and  business  along 
our  river  line  of  settlements,  which  are  now  mat- 
ters of  memory  only  and  thrown  far  to  the  rear- 
ward in  the  onward  march  of  improvement. 
Whence  the  timid  fawn  stood  by  the  margin  of  the 
stream  or  lake,  feeding  on  the  luxuriant  herbage, 
or  viewing  its  shadow  in  the  limpid  wave;  or  the 
yell  of  the  panther  awoke  the  echoes  of  the  wood 
— the  sonorous  breathing  of  steam  engines,  or  the 
more  thrilling,  loud,  long,  terrific,  terrible  whistle 
of  a  locomotive  is  heard,  and  thriving  towns  and 
cities  stand  out  in  beauty  along  the  shore,  doing  a 
business  of  countless  thousands  in  merchandise  and 
produce.  Speaking  of  a  locomotive  and  its  whistle, 
it  is  now  beginning  to  be  heard  in  all  our  continent 
— we  have  heard  its  clear  shriek  in  this  City  for  a 
few  months  past,  shouting,  'Take  care!  take  care! ! 
the  iron  image  moves!'  What  is  that  image  like? 
Has  it  breath?  and  what  is  it?  It  is  like  some  won- 
derful thing  seen  in  a  startling  dream,  imagined  to 
be  for  some  great  purpose  inexplicable!  It  has 
breath  and  arms,  hands  and  feet,  and  is  a  live  metal 

23 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


with  a  steam  soul — here  now,  and  in  an  hour  40, 
50  or  60  miles  hence,  dragging  after  it  its  weak 
creator,  with  its  bundles  of  rich  substances;  and 
sometimes  it  takes  upon  its  shoulders  great  palaces 
full  of  human  life  and  plunges  into  rivers  and  lakes 
and  across  the  wide  prairies;  and  wherever  it  goes 
it  whistles!  The  lips  of  a  thousand  human  whis- 
tles in  one  grand  strain  united  could  not  raise  a 
note  half  so  loud  and  thrilling  as  the  faintest  effort 
of  one  'iron  man/  Old  men,  when  you  hear  the 
whistle  of  the  iron  man  of  this  day,  do  you  ever 
think  of  the  time  you  whistled  to  'drive  off  fear,' 
or  'drive  dull  cares  away'? — How  loud  you 
could  'sound/  how  the  woods  would  ring  and 
the  hills  echo  with  the  tunes  that  'come  natural/ 
How  pleasant  you  felt  whistling.  You  never  ex- 
pected then  to  hear  a  big  piece  of  iron  whistle  loud- 
er than  you  could!  You  can  hear  it  now.  The 
iron  whistle  is  every  man's  musician — he  is  the 
particular  favorite  of  the  fast  spirit  enterprise,  and 
the  children  of  trade  dance  to  the  melody  of  his 
strain,  while  cold  eyed  speculation  smiles,  and 
grim-faced  avarice  laughs  aloud  when  he  whistles 
in  the  distance." 

(A  facsimile  photograph  of  the  four  page 
paper,  Drown's  Peoria  City  Record,  will  be  found 
inserted  on  page  135  of  this  book.) 

24 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

November  7,  1854,  the  first  train  from  Chicago 
entered  Peoria  over  the  Peoria  and  Bureau  Valley 
— now  the  Chicago,  Rock  Island  and  Pacific  rail- 
road. Prior  to  that  time  regular  service  was  main- 
tained between  St.  Louis  and  Chicago  by  means 


PEORIA  AND  BUREAU  VALLEY   RAILROAD    (NOW   C.   R.   I.   ft   P.) 
FIRST  TRAIN  TO  ENTER  PEORIA  FROM  CHICAGO  NOV.    1,    1854. 

of  packets.  As  the  railroad  progressed  from  Chi- 
cago westward  the  connection  was  made  at  La 
Salle,  Peru  and  Henry. 


25 


Chapter  Three 

Although  only  a  boy  I  recall  the  day  perfectly. 
I  was  a  strong  "Douglas  man" — how  he  would 
appeal  to  a  boy  of  that  period!  The  "Little 
Giant" — the  foremost  statesman  of  the  day — 
was  arrayed  in  frock  coat  and  black  pants,  a  high 
silk  hat,  white  shirt  and  collar,  with  a  black 
stock.  He  came  to  our  western  village  where  such 
things  were  unknown,  a  being  superior  and 
supreme  in  my  regard. 

The  Democratic  Committee  had  appointed  a 
committee  of  sixty  to  arrange  for  his  reception, 
and  had  passed  the  following  resolution: 

"Resolved:  That  the  Democracy  of  Peoria 
County  who  wish  to  take  part  in  the  public  recep- 
tion of  Judge  Douglas  be  requested  to  meet  at  the 
Three  Mile  House'  (Potter's),  on  the  Farming- 
ton  road,  on  Monday,  the  16th  inst.,  at  9  o'clock 
A.  M.  All  who  do  so  are  requested  to  appear  on 
horseback." 

The  Peoria  Republican  of  Oct.  19,  1854,  says: 

"Mr.  Douglas  rode  into  our  city  yesterday  at 
the  head  of  a  triumphal  procession,  seated  in  a  car- 
riage drawn  by  four  beautiful  white  palfreys  and 
preceded  by  a  band  of  music.     Cannon  boomed  in 

27 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


welcome  to  the  distinguished  visitor  and  the  cheers 
of  his  friends  resounded  through  our  quiet  streets. 
He  was  waited  upon  by  a  committee  of  the  faithful 
and  escorted  to  the  place  of  speaking,  and  the  'dis- 
tinguished chairman  (Washington  Cockle)  wel- 
comed him  to  Peoria  County  in  a  terse  and  elo- 
quent speech  in  which  he  seemed  to  assume  that  the 
Judge  was  the  great  man  of  the  age — the  greatest 
man  of  any  age  in  the  past,  and  greater  than  any 
man  that  may  flourish  in  any  age  in  the  future." 

In  strange  contrast  was  the  quiet,  undemon- 
strative entry  of  the  tall,  lank,  homely  and  awk- 
ward Lincoln  whose  name  and  fame  were  to  ring 
through  the  ages — child  of  the  soil — friend  of  the 
people — the  Emancipator  of  a  race. 

Child-like    in    his    faith — 
God-like  in  his  courage — 
Christ-like    in    his    martyrdom. 

The  events  which  led  up  to  this  meeting  form 
a  fascinating  page  in  the  history  of  our  country 
and  will  deserve  the  attention  of  the  student  who 
wishes  to  familiarize  himself  with  the  develop- 
ment of  free  America  as  it  exists  today. 

The  immediate  cause  of  the  famous  Lincoln- 
Douglas  debates,  of  which  the  Peoria  meeting  was 
the  forerunner,  was  the  Kansas-Nebraska  Bill  in- 
troduced into  the  United  States  Senate  in  Jan- 

28 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


uary,   1854,  by  Judge  Douglas,  which  became  a 
law  May  31st,  1854. 

This  bill  provided  for  the  creation  of  two  vast 
territories  to  be  called,  respectively,  Kansas  and 
Nebraska.  The  inhabitants  were  to  be  allowed  to 
decide  for  themselves  whether  or  not  slavery  was  to 
be  permitted  within  their  respective  limits.  The 
passage  of  this  bill  created  sectional  rancor  and  dis- 
cord. The  North  saw  in  the  measure  a  scheme  to 
make  slavery  National,  and  Southern  statesmen 
confirmed  the  opinion.  Robert  Toombs  of  Geor- 
gia, who  afterwards  became  a  member  of  the  Con- 
federate Cabinet,  declared  he  would  "yet  live  to 
call  the  roll  of  his  slaves  on  Bunker's  Hill."  Squat- 
ters (emigrants)  flocked  to  Kansas  and  Nebraska 
from  North  and  South — the  one  element  firm  to 
prevent  the  extension  of  slavery  into  these  sections, 
the  other  seeking  to  create  new  slave  territory. 
This  question  became  known  as  the  doctrine  of 
"Squatter  Sovereignty." 


29 


LINCOLN'S    INVITATION  TO  PEORIA 


Chapter  Four 

The  Peoria  debate  could  hardly  be  called  a  pre- 
arranged affair.  A  short  time  before  the  Peoria 
meeting,  Judge  Douglas  had  addressed  the  crowd 
at  the  State  Fair  held  in  Springfield,  and  the  Whigs 
had  arranged  with  Judge  Lyman  Trumbull  to 
make  reply  upon  the  day  following,  but  he  failed 
to  appear,  and  Mr.  Lincoln  was  called  upon  to  fill 
his  place.  The  Democrats  had  arranged  a  series  of 
meetings  for  Judge  Douglas — the  first  to  be  held 
at  Peoria,  October  16th.  As  soon  as  announce- 
ment of  these  meetings  was  made,  the  Whigs  in 
Peoria  got  busy  and  an  invitation  was  sent  to  Mr. 
Lincoln  to  appear  and  make  answer. 

PEORIA'S  INVITATION  TO  LINCOLN 

Peoria,  Sept.  28,  '54. 
Hon.  Abraham  Lincoln, 
Dear  Sir: 

Understanding  that  Judge  Douglas  is  expected 
to  address  our  citizens  on  the  16th  of  next  month 
on  the  principles  of  the  Nebraska-Kansas  Bill, 
and  feeling  that  what  he  may  then  advance  should 
not  be  suffered  to  pass  without  suitable  notice — 
the  undersigned,  on  behalf  of  themselves  and  the 
Whigs  of  Peoria,  are  exceedingly  desirous  that  (if 

31 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

not  too  great  a  tax  upon  your  time  and  strength) 
you  will  consent  to  be  present  and  take  a  con- 
venient opportunity,  after  the  speech  of  Judge 
Douglas,  to  reply  to  it,  and  give  us  your  own 
views  upon  the  subject.  Permit  us  to  say  here 
that  we  are  not  unmindful  of  the  good  service  you 
have  heretofore  repeatedly  rendered  us,  nor  in- 
sensible of  what  we  already  owe  you  on  that  ac- 
count. But  this  the  rather  encourages  us  to  solicit 
and  look  for  a  renewal  of  the  favor. 

Hoping  you  may  find  it  convenient  to  respond 
favorably  to  our  wish,  and  that  at  no  distant  day 
it  may  be  in  our  power  to  testify  our  loyal  and 
warm  appreciation  of  your  patriotic  and  efficient 
public  services,  we  remain 

Very  truly, 
Your  Friends  and  Fellow  Citizens. 
John  Hamlin  Jonathan  K.  Cooper 

A.  P.  Bartlett  George  W.  McClellan 

Lorin  G.  Pratt  Thomas  Bryant 

Dr.  Joseph  C.  Frye  John  T.  Lindsay 

Charles  Ballance  John  A.  McCoy 

George  C.  Bestor  David  D.  Irons 

Hugh  W.  Reynolds  Valentine  Dewein 

Alexander  McCoy  William  A.  Herron 

John  Dredge  Edward  Dickinson 

John  D.  Arnold  John  King 

(A  facsimile  of  this  invitation  is  inserted  on 
page  31.) 

32 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN      IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


Mr.  Lincoln  accepted  the  invitation  and  it  was 
afterwards  arranged  that  Mr.  Douglas  was  to 
speak,  Lincoln  to  follow,  and  Douglas  to  close. 
No  limit  was  set  as  to  time  each  was  to  occupy. 

The  meeting  had  been  advertised  as  a  Douglas 
meeting.  Judge  Douglas  commenced  his  speech 
at  half  after  two  and  did  not  conclude  until 
after  five  o'clock.  I  now  quote  from  an  account 
given  by  the  late  Dr.  Robert  Boal  of  Peoria. 

"After  he  concluded,  Mr.  Lincoln  arose  and  said 
he  had  a  proposal  to  make  to  the  audience  which 
was,  that  they  go  home  and  get  their  suppers,  then 
come  back  and  he  would  talk  to  them.  As  an  ad- 
ditional inducement,  he  said  that  'Senator  Doug- 
las had  the  closing  speech,  and  if  you  would  like 
to  see  him  skin  me,  you  had  better  come  back.'  The 
people  had  stood  for  nearly  three  hours  in  front  of 
the  steps  of  the  old  court  house,  from  which  the 
speakers  addressed  them.  They  were  tired  from 
standing  so  long,  but  they  came  back  in  increased 
number  and  with  increased  interest.  At  about  7 
o'clock,  Mr.  Lincoln  slowly  arose,  and,  after  sur- 
veying the  large  audience,  commenced  his  speech  by 
saying:  'He  thought  he  could  appreciate  an  argu- 
ment, and,  at  times,  believed  he  could  make  one, 
but  when  one  denied  the  settled  and  plainest  facts 
of  history,  you  could  not  argue  with  him;  the  only 
3  33 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

thing  you  could  do  would  be  to  stop  his  mouth 
with  a  corn  cob/ 

"I  write  this  as  I  recollect  it,  and  I  believe  I  have 
given  it  substantially  as  he  said  it.  Senator  Doug- 
las had  an  appointment  to  speak  at  Lacon  the  next 
day.  The  late  Judge  Silas  Ramsey  and  myself 
went  to  Peoria  to  hear  the  speeches  and  to  induce 
Mr.  Lincoln  to  go  to  Lacon  the  next  day  to  answer 
Senator  Douglas.  He  agreed  to  go.  We  took  him 
up  in  a  carriage.  Senator  Douglas  went  up  in  the 
mail  steamer  to  Chillicothe,  which  connected  with 
the  branch  of  the  Rock  Island,  which  was  only 
finished  to  that  point.  A  number  of  Peorians 
went  up  on  the  boat  and  took  the  train  to  Spar- 
land.  Among  them  was  the  late  Judge  Powell  of 
Peoria.  In  the  conversation  which  took  place 
between  the  senator  and  the  judge,  the  latter  told 
the  senator  that  Mr.  Lincoln  was  on  the  way  up 
to  Lacon  'to  reply  to  him.  Mr.  Douglas  was  sur- 
prised to  hear  it,  but  said  little  in  reply.  He  did 
not  expect  to  meet  Mr.  Lincoln.  When  we  arrived 
about  1  o'clock  at  Lacon,  we  found  Senator  Doug- 
las at  the  hotel.  Mr.  Lincoln  went  in  to  see  him, 
and,  after  a  few  minutes,  came  out  and  told  his 
friends  that  Mr.  Douglas  said  he  was  sick  and 
worn  out  and  would  not  speak.  Mr.  Lincoln,  with 
his  usual  magnanimity,  said  he  would  not  take  ad- 

34 


B.    C.    BRYNER 
Through  whose  efforts  this  book  was  made  possible 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

vantage  of  him  and  would  make  no  speech.  The 
people  were  greatly  disappointed.  Nearly  half  the 
population  in  the  county  were  in  town  to  hear  the 
distinguished  men.  An  agreement  was  made  be- 
tween Senator  Douglas  and  Mr.  Lincoln  that  both 
would  go  home  and  stop  their  meetings.  Mr.  Lin- 
coln left  soon  after  the  arrangement  was  made. 
Senator  Douglas  remained  until  the  next  day,  and 
left  ostensibly  for  Chicago.  I  was  going  to  Chi- 
cago and  was  with  him  in  the  omnibus.  Between 
Lacon  and  Sparland  a  carriage  met  us  and  stopped 
the  omnibus.  Senator  Douglas  got  out  of  it  and 
took  his  satchel  with  him.  I  said  to  him,  'I 
thought  you  intended  to  go  to  Chicago?'  'Yes/  he 
said,  'but  I  will  catch  the  train  at  Henry/  Instead 
of  taking  the  train  at  Henry,  he  went  to  Princeton, 
in  Bureau  County,  and  made  a  speech  that  day 
which  Owen  Lovejoy  answered.  In  so  doing,  he 
violated  the  agreement  made  with  Mr.  Lincoln  and 
made  a  remarkably  rapid  recovery  from  his  ill- 
ness." 


36 


Chapter  Five 

SPEECH    OF    ABRAHAM    LINCOLN    AT 

PEORIA,  ILL.    (OCT.    16,    1854) 

IN  REPLY  TO  SENATOR 

STEPHEN  A.  DOUGLAS 

(From  a  Reporter's  Note  Book) 

I  insist  that  if  there  is  anything  which  it  is  the 
duty  of  the  whole  people  never  to  intrust  to  any 
hands  but  their  own,  that  thing  is  the  preservation 
and  perpetuity  of  their  own  liberties  and  institu- 
tions. And  if  they  shall  think,  as  I  do,  that  the 
extension  of  slavery  endangers  them  more  than 
any  or  all  other  causes,  how  recreant  to  themselves 
if  they  submit  the  question,  and  with  it  the  fate  of 
their  country,  to  a  mere  handful  of  men  bent  only 
to  self-interest.  If  this  question  of  slavery  exten- 
sion were  an  insignificant  one — one  having  no 
power  to  do  harm — it  might  be  shuffled  aside  in 
this  way;  and  being,  as  it  is,  the  great  Behemoth  of 
danger,  shall  the  strong  grip  of  the  nation  be  loos- 
ened upon  him,  to  intrust  him  to  the  hands  of  such 
feeble  keepers? 

But  Nebraska  is  urged  as  a  great  Union-saving 
measure.  Well,  I  too  go  for  saving  the  Union. 
Much  as  I  hate  slavery,  I  would  consent  to  the  ex- 
tension of  it  rather  than  see  the  Union  dissolved, 
just  as  I  would  consent  to  any  great  evil  to  avoid 

37 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


a  greater  one.  But  when  I  go  to  Union-saving,  I 
must  believe,  at  least,  that  the  means  I  employ  have 
some  adaptation  to  the  end.  To  my  mind,  Ne- 
braska has  no  such  adaptation. 

It  hath  no  relish  of  salvation  in  it.  It  is  an  ag- 
gravation, rather,  of  the  only  one  thing  which  ever 
endangers  the  Union.  When  it  came  upon  us,  all 
was  peace  and  quiet.  The  nation  was  looking  to 
the  forming  of  new  bonds  of  union,  and  a  long 
course  of  peace  and  prosperity  seemed  to  lie  before 
us.  In  the  whole  range  of  possibility,  there  scarce- 
ly appears  to  me  to  have  been  anything  out  of 
which  the  slavery  agitation  could  have  been  re- 
vived, except  the  very  project  of  repealing  the  Mis- 
souri Compromise.  Every  inch  of  territory  we 
owned  already  had  a  definite  settlement  of  the 
slavery  question,  by  which  all  parties  were  pledged 
to  abide.  Indeed,  there  was  no  uninhabited  coun- 
try on  the  continent  which  we  could  acquire,  if  we 
except  some  extreme  northern  regions  which  are 
wholly  out  of  the  question. 

In  this  state  of  affairs  the  Genius  of  Discord 
himself  could  scarcely  have  invented  a  way  of 
again  setting  us  by  the  ears  but  by  turning  back 
and  destroying  the  peace  measures  of  the  past.  The 
counsels  of  that  Genius  seem  to  have  prevailed. 
The  Missouri  Compromise  was  repealed;  and  here 

38 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


we  are  in  the  midst  of  a  new  slavery  agitation, 
such,  I  think,  as  we  have  never  seen  before.  Who 
is  responsible  for  this?  Is  it  those  who  resist  the 
measure,  or  those  who  causelessly  brought  it  for- 
ward and  pressed  it  through,  having  reason  to 
know,  and  in  fact  knowing,  it  must  and  would  be 
so  resisted?  It  could  not  but  be  expected  by  its 
author  that  it  would  be  looked  upon  as  a  meas- 
ure for  the  extension  of  slavery,  aggravated  by  a 
gross  breach  of  faith. 

Argue  as  you  will  and  long  as  you  will,  this  is 
the  naked  front  and  aspect  of  the  measure.  And 
in  this  aspect  it  could  not  but  produce  agitation. 
Slavery  is  founded  in  the  selfishness  of  man's  na- 
ture— opposition  to  it  in  his  love  of  justice.  These 
principles  are  an  eternal  antagonism,  and  when 
brought  into  collision  so  fiercely  as  slavery  exten- 
sion brings  them,  shocks  and  throes  and  convul- 
sions must  ceaselessly  follow.  Repeal  the  Missouri 
Compromise,  repeal  all  compromises,  repeal  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  repeal  all  past  his- 
tory, you  still  cannot  repeal  human  nature.  It  still 
will  be  out  of  the  abundance  of  man's  heart 
that  slavery  extension  is  wrong,  and  out  of  the 
abundance  of  his  heart  his  mouth  will  continue 
to  speak.  The  structure,  too,  of  the  Nebraska 
Bill  is  very  peculiar.      The  people  are  to  decide 

39 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


the  question  of  slavery  for  themselves;  but  when 
they  are  to  decide,  or  how  they  are  to  decide, 
or  whether  when  the  question  is  once  decided, 
it  is  to  remain  so  or  is  to  be  subject  to  an  in- 
definite succession  of  new  trials,  the  law  does  not 
say.  Is  it  to  be  decided  by  the  first  dozen  settlers 
who  arrive  there,  or  is  it  to  await  the  arrival 
of  a  hundred?  Is  it  to  be  decided  by  a  vote  of 
the  people  or  a  vote  of  the  legislature,  or,  indeed, 
by  a  vote  of  any  sort?  To  these  questions  the  law 
gives  no  answer.  There  is  a  mystery  about  this; 
for  when  a  member  proposed  to  give  the  legislature 
express  authority  to  exclude  slavery,  it  was  hooted 
down  by  the  friends  of  the  bill.  This  fact  is  worth 
remembering.  Some  Yankees  in  the  East  are  send- 
ing emigrants  to  Nebraska  to  exclude  slavery  from 
it;  and,  so  far  as  I  can  judge,  they  expect  the  ques- 
tion to  be  decided  by  voting  in  some  way  or  other. 
But  the  Missourians  are  awake,  too.  They  are 
within  a  stone's-throw  of  the  contested  ground. 
They  hold  meetings  and  pass  resolutions,  in  which 
not  the  slightest  allusion  to  voting  is  made.  They 
resolve  that  slavery  already  exists  in  the  Territory; 
that  more  shall  go  there;  that  they,  remaining  in 
Missouri,  will  protect  it,  and  that  abolitionists 
shall  be  hung  or  driven  away.  Through  all  this 
bowie-knives  and  six-shooters  are  seen  plainly 
enough,  but  never  a  glimpse  of  the  ballot-box. 

40 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

And,  really,  what  is  the  result  of  all  this?  Each 
party  within  having  numerous  and  determined 
backers  without,  is  it  not  probable  that  the  contest 
will  come  to  blows  and  bloodshed?  Could  there 
be  a  more  apt  invention  to  bring  about  collision 
and  the  violence  on  the  slavery  question  than  this 
Nebraska  project  is?  I  do  not  charge  or  believe  that 
such  was  intended  by  Congress;  but  if  they  had 
literally  formed  a  ring  and  placed  champions  with- 
in it  to  fight  out  the  controversy,  the  fight  could  be 
no  more  likely  to  come  off  than  it  is.  And  if  this 
fight  should  begin,  is  it  likely  to  take  a  very  peace- 
ful Union-saving  turn?  Will  not  the  first  drop 
of  blood  so  shed  be  the  real  knell  of  the  Union? 

The  Missouri  Compromise  ought  to  be  restored. 
For  the  sake  of  the  Union,  it  ought  to  be  restored. 
We  ought  to  elect  a  House  of  Representatives 
which  will  vote  its  restoration.  If  by  any  means 
we  omit  to  do  this,  what  follows?  Slavery  may 
or  may  not  be  established  in  Nebraska.  But  wheth- 
er it  be  or  not,  we  shall  have  repudiated — discarded 
from  the  councils  of  the  nation — the  spirit  of  com- 
promise; for  who,  after  this,  will  ever  trust  in  a 
national  compromise?  The  spirit  of  mutual  con- 
cession— that  spirit  which  first  gave  us  the  Consti- 
tution, and  which  has  thrice  saved  the  Union — we 
shall  have  strangled  and  cast  from  us  forever.   And 

41 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


what  shall  we  have  in  lieu  of  it?  The  South  flushed 
with  triumph  and  tempted  to  excess;  the  North, 
betrayed  as  they  believe,  brooding  on  wrong  and 
burning  for  revenge.  One  side  will  provoke,  the 
other  resent.  The  one  will  taunt,  the  other  defy; 
one  aggresses,  the  other  retaliates.  Already  a  few 
in  the  North  defy  all  constitutional  restraints,  re- 
sist the  execution  of  the  fugitive-slave  law,  and 
even  menace  the  institution  of  slavery  in  the  States 
where  it  exists.  Already  a  few  in  the  South  claim 
the  constitutional  right  to  take  and  to  hold  slaves 
in  the  free  States — demand  the  revival  of  the  slave- 
trade — and  demand  a  treaty  with  Great  Britain  by 
which  fugitive  slaves  may  be  reclaimed  from  Can- 
ada. As  yet  they  are  but  few  on  either  side.  It  is 
a  grave  question  for  lovers  of  the  Union,  whether 
the  final  destruction  of  the  Missouri  Compromise, 
and  with  it  the  spirit  of  all  compromise,  will  or 
will  not  embolden  and  embitter  each  of  these,  and 
fatally  increase  the  number  of  both. 

But  restore  the  compromise,  and  what  then? 
We  thereby  restore  the  national  faith,  the  national 
confidence,  the  national  feeling  of  brotherhood. 
We  thereby  reinstate  the  spirit  of  concession  and 
compromise,  that  spirit  which  has  never  failed  us 
in  past  perils,  and  which  may  be  safely  trusted  for 
all  the  future.     The  South  ought  to  join  in  doing 

42 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


this.  The  peace  of  the  nation  is  as  dear  to  them  as 
to  us.  In  memories  of  the  past  and  hopes  of  the 
future,  they  share  as  largely  as  we.  It  would  be  on 
their  part  a  great  act — great  in  its  spirit,  and  great 
in  its  effects.  It  would  be  worth  to  the  nation  a 
hundred  years'  purchase  of  peace  and  prosperity. 
And  what  of  sacrifice  would  they  make?  They 
only  surrender  to  us  what  they  gave  us  for  a  con- 
sideration long,  long  ago;  what  they  have  not  now 
asked  for,  struggled  or  cared  for;  what  has  been 
thrust  upon  them,  not  less  to  their  astonishment 
than  to  ours. 

But  it  is  said  we  cannot  restore  it;  that  though 
we  elect  every  member  of  the  lower  House,  the  Sen- 
ate is  still  against  us.  It  is  quite  true  that  of  the  sen- 
ators who  passed  the  Nebraska  Bill  a  majority  of 
the  whole  Senate  will  retain  their  seats  in  spite  of 
the  elections  of  this  and  the  next  year.  But  if  at 
these  elections  their  several  constituencies  shall 
clearly  express  their  will  against  Nebraska,  will 
these  senators  disregard  their  will?  Will  they 
neither  obey  nor  make  room  for  those  who  will? 

But  even  if  we  fail  to  technically  restore  the 
compromise,  it  is  still  a  great  point  to  carry  a  pop- 
ular vote  in  favor  of  the  restoration.  The  moral 
weight  of  such  a  vote  cannot  be  estimated  too 
highly.     The  authors  of  Nebraska  are  not  at  all 

43 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

satisfied  with  the  destruction  of  the  compromise — 
an  indorsement  of  this  principle  they  proclaim  to 
be  the  great  object.  With  them,  Nebraska  alone  is 
a  small  matter — to  establish  a  principle  for  future 
use  is  what  they  particularly  desire. 

The  future  use  is  to  be  the  planting  of  slavery 
wherever  in  the  wide  world  local  and  unorganized 
opposition  cannot  prevent  it.  Now,  if  you  wish 
to  give  them  this  indorsement,  if  you  wish  to  es- 
tablish this  principle,  do  so.  I  shall  regret  it,  but 
it  is  your  right.  On  the  contrary,  if  you  are  op- 
posed to  the  principle — intend  to  give  it  no  such 
indorsement — let  no  wheedling,  no  sophistry,  di- 
vert you  from  throwing  a  direct  vote  against  it. 

Some  men,  mostly  Whigs,  who  condemn  the  re- 
peal of  the  Missouri  Compromise,  nevertheless 
hesitate  to  go  for  its  restoration,  lest  they  be 
thrown  in  company  with  the  abolitionists.  Will 
they  allow  me,  as  an  old  Whig,  to  tell  them,  good- 
humoredly,  that  I  think  this  is  very  silly?  Stand 
with  anybody  that  stands  right.  Stand  with  him 
while  he  is  right,  and  part  with  him  when  he  goes 
wrong.  Stand  with  the  abolitionists  in  restoring 
the  Missouri  Compromise,  and  stand  against  him 
when  he  attempts  to  repeal  the  fugitive-slave  law. 
In  the  latter  case  you  stand  with  the  Southern  dis- 
unionist.    What  of  that?     You  are  still  right.     In 

44 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


both  cases  you  are  right.  In  both  cases  you  expose 
the  dangerous  extremes.  In  both  you  stand  on 
middle  ground,  and  hold  the  ship  level  and  steady. 
In  both  you  are  national,  and  nothing  less  than  na- 
tional. This  is  the  good  old  Whig  ground.  To 
desert  such  ground  because  of  any  company  is  to 
be  less  than  a  Whig — less  than  a  man — less  than 
an  American. 

I  particularly  object  to  the  new  position  which 
the  avowed  principle  of  this  Nebraska  law  gives  to 
slavery  in  the  body  politic.  I  object  to  it  because  it 
assumes  that  there  can  be  moral  right  in  the  enslav- 
ing of  one  man  by  another*  I  object  to  it  as  a 
dangerous  dalliance  for  a  free  people — a  sad  evi- 
dence that,  feeling  prosperity,  we  forget  right;  that 
liberty,  as  a  principle,  we  have  ceased  to  revere.  I 
object  to  it  because  the  fathers  of  the  republic  es- 
chewed and  rejected  it.  The  argument  of  "neces- 
sity" was  the  only  argument  they  ever  admitted 
in  favor  of  slavery;  and  so  far,  and  so  far  only,  as 
it  carried  them  did  they  ever  go.  They  found  the 
institution  existing  among  us,  which  they  could 
not  help,  and  they  cast  blame  upon  the  British  king 
for  having  permitted  its  introduction.  Before  the 
Constitution  they  prohibited  its  introduction  into 
the  Northwestern  Territory,  the  only  country  we 
owned  then  free  from  it.      At  the  framing  and 

45 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

adoption  of  the  Constitution,  they  forbore  to  so 
much  as  mention  the  word  "slave"  or  "slavery"  in 
the  whole  instrument.  In  the  provision  for  the  re- 
covery of  fugitives,  the  slave  is  spoken  of  as  a  "per- 
son held  to  serve  or  labor."  In  that  prohibiting 
the  abolition  of  the  African  slave-trade  for  twenty 
years,  that  trade  is  spoken  of  as  "the  migration  or 
importation  of  such  persons  as  any  of  the  States 
now  existing  shall  think  proper  to  admit,"  etc. 
These  are  the  only  provisions  alluding  to  slavery. 
Thus  the  thing  is  hid  away  in  the  Constitution, 
just  as  an  afflicted  man  hides  away  a  wen  or  can- 
cer which  he  does  not  cut  out  at  once,  lest  he  bleed 
to  death, — with  the  promise,  nevertheless,  that  the 
cutting  may  begin  at  a  certain  time.  Less  than 
this  our  fathers  could  not  do,  and  more  they 
would  not  do.  Necessity  drove  them  so  far.  and 
further  they  would  not  go.  But  this  is  not  all. 
The  earliest  Congress  under  the  Constitution  took 
the  same  view  of  slavery.  They  hedged  and 
hemmed  it  in  to  the  narrowest  limits  of  necessity. 

In  1794  they  prohibited  an  outgoing  slave- 
trade — that  is,  the  taking  of  slaves  from  the 
United  States  to  sell.  In  1798  they  prohibited 
the  bringing  of  slaves  from  Africa  into  the  Mis- 
sissippi Territory,  this  Territory  then  comprising 
what  are  now  the  States  of  Mississippi  and  Ala- 

46 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


bama.  This  was  ten  years  before  they  had  the 
authority  to  do  the  same  thing  as  to  the  States  ex- 
isting at  the  adoption  of  the  Constitution.  In 
1800  they  prohibited  American  citizens  from 
trading  in  slaves  between  foreign  countries,  as,  for 
instance,  from  Africa  to  Brazil.  In  1803  they 
passed  a  law  in  aid  of  one  or  two  slave-State  laws, 
in  restraint  of  the  internal  slave-trade.  In  1807, 
in  apparent  hot  haste,  they  passed  the  law  nearly 
a  year  in  advance — to  take  effect  the  first  day  of 
1808,  the  very  first  day  the  Constitution  would 
permit — prohibiting  the  African  slave-trade  by 
heavy  pecuniary  and  corporal  penalties.  In  1820, 
finding  these  provisions  ineffectual,  they  declared 
the  slave-trade  piracy,  and  annexed  to  it  the 
extreme  penalty  of  death.  While  all  this  was  pass- 
ing in  the  General  Government,  five  or  six  of  the 
original  slave  States  had  adopted  systems  of  grad- 
ual emancipation,  by  which  the  institution  was 
rapidly  becoming  extinct  within  their  limits.  Thus 
we  see  that  the  plain,  unmistakable  spirit  of  that 
^ge  toward  slavery  was  hostility  to  the  principle 
and  toleration  only  by  necessity. 

But  now  it  is  to  be  transformed  into  a  "sacred 
right/'  Nebraska  brings  it  forth,  places  it  on  the 
highroad  to  extension  and  perpetuity,  and  with  a 
pat  on  its  back  says  to  it,   "Go,  and  God  speed 

47 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

you."  Henceforth  it  is  to  be  the  chief  jewel  of  the 
nation — the  very  figurehead  of  the  ship  of  state. 
Little  by  little,  but  steadily  as  man's  march  to  the 
grave,  we  have  been  giving  up  the  old  for  the  new 
faith.  Near  eighty  years  ago  we  began  by  declaring 
that  all  men  are  created  equal;  but  now  from  that 
beginning  we  have  run  down  to  the  other  declara- 
tion, that  for  some  men  to  enslave  others  is  a  "sa- 
cred right  of  self-government."  These  principles 
cannot  stand  together.  They  are  as  opposite  as 
God  and  Mammon;  and  whoever  holds  to  the 
one  must  despise  the  other.  When  Pettit,  in  con- 
nection with  his  support  of  the  Nebraska  Bill, 
called  the  Declaration  of  Independence  "a  self-evi- 
dent lie,"  he  only  did  what  consistency  and  candor 
require  all  other  Nebraska  men  to  do.  Of  the 
forty-odd  Nebraska  senators  who  sat  present  and 
heard  him  no  one  rebuked  him.  Nor  am  I  ap- 
prised that  any  Nebraska  newspaper,  or  any  Ne- 
braska orator,  in  the  whole  nation  has  ever  yet  re- 
buked him.  If  this  had  been  said  among  Marion's 
men,  Southerners  though  they  were,  what  would 
have  become  of  the  man  who  said  it?  If  this  had 
been  said  to  the  men  who  captured  Andre,  the  man 
who  said  it  would  probably  have  been  hung  sooner 
than  Andre  was.  If  it  had  been  said  in  old  Inde- 
pendence Hall  seventy-eight  years  ago,   the  very 

48 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


doorkeeper  would  have  throttled  the  man  and 
thrust  him  into  the  street.  Let  no  one  be  deceived. 
The  spirit  of  seventy-six  and  the  spirit  of  Nebras- 
ka are  utter  antagonisms;  and  the  former  is  being 
rapidly  displaced  by  the  latter. 

Fellow-countrymen,  Americans,  South  as  well 
as  North,  shall  we  make  no  effort  to  arrest  this? 
Already  the  liberty  party  throughout  the  world 
express  the  apprehension  "that  the  one  retrograde 
institution  in  America  is  undermining  the  prin- 
ciples of  progress,  and  fatally  violating  the  noblest 
political  system  the  world  ever  saw."  This  is  not 
the  taunt  of  enemies,  but  the  warning  of  friends.  Is 
it  quite  safe  to  disregard  it — to  despise  it?  Is  there 
no  danger  to  liberty  itself  in  discarding  the  earliest 
practice  and  first  precept  of  our  ancient  faith?  In 
our  greedy  chase  to  make  profit  of  the  negro  let  us 
beware  lest  we  "cancel  and  tear  in  pieces"  even  the 
white  man's  charter  of  freedom. 

Our  republican  robe  is  soiled  and  trailed  in  the 
dust.  Let  us  repurify  it.  Let  us  turn  and  wash  it 
white  in  the  spirit,  if  not  the  blood,  of  the  Revo- 
lution. Let  us  turn  slavery  from  its  claims  of 
"moral  right"  back  upon  its  existing  legal  right 
and  its  arguments  of  "necessity."  Let  us  return  it 
to  the  position  our  fathers  gave  it,  and  there  let  it 
rest  in  peace.  Let  us  readopt  the  Declaration  of 
4  49 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

Independence,  and  with  it  the  practices  and  policy 
which  harmonize  with  it.  Let  North  and  South 
— let  all  Americans — let  all  lovers  of  liberty  every- 
where join  in  the  great  and  good  work.  If  we  do 
this,  we  shall  not  only  have  saved  the  Union,  but 
we  shall  have  so  saved  it  as  to  make  and  to  keep  it 
forever  worthy  of  the  saving.  We  shall  have  so 
saved  it  that  the  succeeding  millions  of  free,  happy 
people,  the  world  over,  shall  rise  up  and  call  us 
blessed  to  the  latest  generations. 

At  Springfield,  twelve  days  ago,  where  I  had 
spoken  substantially  as  I  have  here,  Judge  Douglas 
replied  to  me;  and  as  he  is  to  reply  to  me  here,  I 
shall  attempt  to  anticipate  him  by  noticing  some  of 
the  points  he  made  there.  He  commenced  by  stat- 
ing I  had  assumed  all  the  way  through  that  the 
principle  of  the  Nebraska  Bill  would  have  the 
effect  of  extending  slavery.  De  denied  that  this 
was  intended,  or  that  this  effect  would  follow. 

I  will  not  reopen  the  argument  upon  this  point. 
That  such  was  the  intention,  the  world  believed  at 
the  start,  and  will  continue  to  believe.  This  was 
the  countenance  of  the  thing,  and  both  friends  and 
enemies  instantly  recognized  it  as  such.  That 
countenance  cannot  now  be  changed  by  argument. 
You  can  as  easily  argue  the  color  out  of  the  negro's 
skin.     Like  the  "bloody  hand"  you  may  wash  it 

50 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

and  wash  it,  yet  the  red  witness  of  guilt  still  sticks 
and  stares  horribly  at  you. 

Next  he  says  that  congressional  intervention 
never  prevented  slavery  anywhere;  that  it  did  not 
prevent  it  in  the  Northwestern  Territory,  nor  in 
Illinois;  that,  in  fact,  Illinois  came  into  the  Union 
as  a  slave  State;  that  the  principle  of  the  Nebraska 
Bill  expelled  it  from  Illinois,  from  several  old 
States,  from  everywhere. 

Now  this  is  mere  quibbling  all  the  way 
through.  If  the  ordinance  of  '87  did  not  keep 
slavery  out  of  the  Northwest  Territory,  how  hap- 
pens it  that  the  northwest  shore  of  the  Ohio  River 
is  entirely  free  from  it,  while  the  southeast  shore, 
less  than  a  mile  distant,  along  nearly  the  whole 
length  of  the  river,  is  entirely  covered  with  it? 

If  that  ordinance  did  not  keep  it  out  of  Illinois, 
what  was  it  that  made  the  difference  between  Illi- 
nois and  Missouri?  They  lie  side  by  side,  the 
Mississippi  River  only  dividing  them  while  their 
early  settlements  were  within  the  same  latitude. 
Between  1810  and  1820  the  number  of  slaves  in 
Missouri  increased  7211,  while  in  Illinois  in  the 
same  ten  years  they  decreased  5 1 .  This  appears  by 
the  census  returns.  During  nearly  all  of  that  ten 
years  both  were  Territories,  not  States.  During 
this  time  the  ordinance  forbade  slavery  to  go  into 

51 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


Illinois,  and  nothing  forbade  it  to  go  into  Mis- 
souri. It  did  go  into  Missouri,  and  did  not  go  into 
Illinois.  That  is  the  fact.  Can  any  one  doubt  as  to 
the  reason  of  it?  But  he  says  Illinois  came  into 
the  Union  as  a  slave  State.  Silence,  perhaps,  would 
be  the  best  answer  to  this  flat  contradiction  of  the 
known  history  of  the  country.  What  are  the  facts 
upon  which  this  bold  assertion  is  based?  When  we 
first  acquired  the  country,  as  far  back  as  1787, 
there  were  some  slaves  within  it  held  by  the  French 
inhabitants  of  Kaskaskia.  The  territorial  legisla- 
tion admitted  a  few  negroes  from  the  slave  States 
as  indentured  servants.  One  year  after  the  adop- 
tion of  the  first  State  constitution,  the  whole 
number  of  them  was — what  do  you  think?  Just 
one  hundred  and  seventeen,  while  the  aggregate 
free  population  was  55,094 — about  four  hun- 
dred and  seventy  to  one.  Upon  this  state  of  facts 
the  people  framed  their  constitution  prohibiting 
the  further  introduction  of  slavery,  with  a  sort  of 
guarantee  to  the  owners  of  the  few  indentured 
servants,  giving  freedom  to  their  children  to  be 
born  thereafter,  and  making  no  mention  whatever 
of  any  supposed  slave  for  life.  Out  of  this  small 
matter  the  judge  manufactures  his  argument  that 
Illinois  came  into  the  Union  as  a  slave  State.  Let 
the  facts  be  the  answer  to  the  argument. 

52 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

The  principles  of  the  Nebraska  Bill,  he  says,  ex- 
pelled slavery  from  Illinois.  The  principle  of 
that  bill  first  planted  it  here — that  is,  it  first  came 
because  there  was  no  law  to  prevent  it,  first  came 
before  we  owned  the  country;  and  finding  it  here, 
and  having  the  ordinance  of  '87  to  prevent  its  in- 
creasing, our  people  struggled  along,  and  finally 
got  rid  of  it  as  best  they  could. 

But  the  principle  of  the  Nebraska  Bill  abolished 
slavery  in  several  of  the  old  States.  Well,  it  is  true 
that  several  of  the  old  States,  in  the  last  quarter  of 
the  last  century,  did  adopt  systems  of  gradual 
emancipation  by  which  the  institution  has  finally 
become  extinct  within  their  limits;  but  it  may  or 
may  not  be  true  that  the  principle  of  the  Nebraska 
Bill  was  the  cause  that  led  to  the  adoption  of  these 
measures.  It  is  now  more  than  fifty  years  since  the 
last  of  these  States  adopted  its  system  of  emancipa- 
tion. 

If  the  Nebraska  Bill  is  the  real  author  of  the 
benevolent  works,  it  is  rather  deplorable  that  it  has 
for  so  long  a  time  ceased  working  altogether.  Is 
there  not  some  reason  to  suspect  that  it  was  the 
principle  of  the  Revolution,  and  not  the  prin- 
ciple of  the  Nebraska  Bill,  that  led  to  emanci- 
pation in  these  old  States?  Leave  it  to  the  people 
of  these  old  emancipating  States,  and  I  am  quite 

53 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


certain  they  will  decide  that  neither  that  nor  any 
other  good  thing  ever  did  or  ever  will  come  of  the 
Nebraska  Bill 

In  the  course  of  my  argument,  Judge  Douglas 
interrupted  me  to  say  that  the  principle  of  the  Ne- 
braska Bill  was  very  old;  that  it  originated  when 
God  made  man,  and  placed  good  and  evil  before 
him,  allowing  him  to  choose  for  himself,  being  re- 
sponsible for  the  choice  he  should  make.  At  the 
time  I  thought  this  was  merely  playful,  and  I  an- 
swered it  accordingly.  But  in  his  reply  to  me  he 
renewed  it  as  a  serious  argument.  In  seriousness, 
then,  the  facts  of  this  proposition  are  not  true  as 
stated.  God  did  not  place  good  and  evil  before 
man,  telling  him  to  make  his  choice.  On  the  con- 
trary, he  did  tell  him  there  was  one  tree  of  the  fruit 
of  which  he  should  not  eat,  upon  pain  of  certain 
death.  I  should  scarcely  wish  so  strong  a  prohibi- 
tion against  slavery  in  Nebraska. 

But  this  argument  strikes  me  as  not  a  little  re- 
markable in  another  particular — in  its  strong  re- 
semblance to  the  old  argument  for  the  "divine 
right  of  kings."  By  the  latter,  the  king  is  to  do 
just  as  he  pleases  with  his  white  subjects,  being  re- 
sponsible to  God  alone.  By  the  former,  the  white 
man  is  to  do  just  as  he  pleases  with  his  black  slaves, 
being  responsible  to  God  alone.  The  two  things  are 

54 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


precisely  alike,  and  it  is  but  natural  that  they 
should  find  similar  arguments  to  sustain  them. 

I  had  argued  that  the  application  of  the  prin- 
ciple of  self-government,  as  contended  for,  would 
require  the  revival  of  the  African  slave-trade,  that 
no  argument  could  be  made  in  favor  of  a  man's 
right  to  take  slaves  to  Nebraska,  which  could  not 
be  equally  well  made  in  favor  of  his  right  to  bring 
them  from  the  coast  of  Africa.  The  judge  replied 
that  the  Constitution  requires  the  suppression  of 
the  foreign  slave-trade,  but  does  not  require  the 
prohibition  of  slavery  in  the  Territories.  That  is  a 
mistake  in  point  of  fact.  The  Constitution  does 
not  require  the  action  of  Congress  in  either  case, 
and  it  does  authorize  it  in  both.  And  so  there  is 
still  no  difference  between  the  cases. 

In  regard  to  what  I  have  said  of  the  advantage 
the  slave  States  have  over  the  free  in  the  matter  of 
representation,  the  judge  replied  that  we  in  the  free 
States  count  five  free  negroes  as  five  white  people, 
while  in  the  slave  States  they  count  five  slaves  as 
three  whites  only;  and  that  the  advantage,  at  last, 
was  on  the  side  of  the  free  States. 

Now,  in  the  slave  States  they  count  free  negroes 
just  as  we  do;  and  it  so  happens  that  besides  their 
slaves,  they  have  as  many  free  negroes  as  we  have, 
and  thirty  thousand  over.     Thus,  their  free  ne- 

55 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN,     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


groes  more  than  balance  ours;  and  their  advantage 
over  us,  in  consequence  of  their  slaves,  still  remains 
as  I  stated  it. 

In  reply  to  my  argument  that  the  compromise 
measures  of  1850  were  a  system  of  equivalents, 
and  that  the  provisions  of  no  one  of  them  could 
fairly  be  carried  to  other  subjects  without  its  cor- 
responding equivalent  being  carried  with  it,  the 
judge  denied  outright  that  these  measures  had  any 
connection  with  or  dependence  upon  each  other. 
This  is  mere  desperation.  If  they  had  no  connec- 
tion, why  are  they  always  spoken  of  in  connection? 
Why  has  he  so  spoken  of  them  a  thousand  times? 
Why  has  he  constantly  called  them  a  series  of  meas- 
ures? Why  does  everybody  call  them  a  com- 
promise? Why  was  California  kept  out  of  the 
Union  six  or  seven  months,  if  it  was  not  because 
of  its  connection  with  the  other  measures?  Web- 
ster's leading  definition  of  the  verb  "to  compro- 
mise" is  "to  adjust  and  settle  a  difference,  by  mu- 
tual agreement,  with  concessions  of  claims  by  the 
parties."  This  conveys  precisely  the  popular  un- 
derstanding of  the  word  "compromise." 

We  knew,  before  the  judge  told  us,  that  these 
measures  passed  separately,  and  in  distinct  bills, 
and  that  no  two  of  them  were  passed  by  the  votes 
of  precisely  the  same  members.    But  we  also  know, 

56 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN,     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


and  so  does  he  know,  that  no  one  of  them  could 
have  passed  both  branches  of  Congress  but  for  the 
understanding  that  the  others  were  to  pass  also. 
Upon  this  understanding,  each  got  votes  which  it 
could  have  got  in  no  other  way.  It  is  this  fact 
which  gives  to  the  measures  their  true  character; 
and  it  is  the  universal  knowledge  of  this  fact  that 
has  given  them  the  name  of  "compromise,"  so  ex- 
pressive of  that  true  character. 

I  had  asked  "if,  in  carrying  the  Utah  and  New 
Mexico  laws  to  Nebraska,  you  could  clear  away 
other  objection,  but  could  you  leave  Nebraska 
'perfectly  free'  to  introduce  slavery  before  she 
forms  a  constitution  during  her  territorial  govern- 
ment, while  the  Utah  and  New  Mexico  laws  only 
authorize  it  when  they  form  constitutions  and  are 
admitted  into  the  Union?"  To  this  Judge  Doug- 
las answered  that  the  Utah  and  New  Mexico  laws 
also  authorized  it  before;  and  to  prove  this  he  read 
from  one  of  their  laws,  as  follows;  "That  the 
legislative  power  of  said  territory  shall  extend  to 
all  rightful  subjects  of  legislation,  consistent  with 
the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  and  the  pro- 
visions of  this  act." 

Now  it  is  perceived  from  the  reading  of  this  that 
there  is  nothing  express  upon  the  subject,  but  that 
the  authority  is  sought  to  be  implied  merely  for 

57 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN,     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


the  general  provision  of  "all  rightful  subjects  of 
legislation."  In  reply  to  this  I  insist,  as  a  legal 
rule  of  construction,  as  well  as  the  plain,  popular 
view  of  the  matter,  that  the  express  provisions  for 
Utah  and  New  Mexico  coming  in  with  slavery,  if 
they  choose,  when  they  shall  form  constitutions,  is 
an  exclusion  of  all  implied  authority  on  the  same 
subject;  that  Congress,  having  the  subject  distinct- 
ly in  their  minds  when  they  made  the  express  pro- 
vision, they  therein  expressed  their  whole  meaning 
on  that  subject. 

The  judge  rather  insinuated  that  I  had  found  it 
convenient  to  forget  the  Washington  territorial 
law  passed  in  1853.  This  was  a  division  of  Ore- 
gon organizing  the  northern  part  as  the  Territory 
of  Washington.  He  asserted  that  by  this  act  the 
ordinance  of  '87,  theretofore  existing  in  Oregon, 
was  repealed;  that  nearly  all  the  members  of  Con- 
gress voted  for  it,  beginning  in  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives with  Charles  Allen  of  Massachusetts, 
and  ending  with  Richard  Yates  of  Illinois;  and 
that  he  could  not  understand  how  those  who  now 
oppose  the  Nebraska  Bill  so  voted  there,  unless  it 
was  because  it  was  then  too  soon  after  both  the 
great  political  parties  had  ratified  the  compromises 
of  1850,  and  the  ratification  therefore  was  too 
fresh  to  be  then  repudiated. 

58 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN,     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


Now  I  had  seen  the  Washington  act  before,  and 
I  have  carefully  examined  it  since;  and  I  aver  that 
there  is  no  repeal  of  the  ordinance  of  '87,  or  of  any 
prohibition  of  slavery,  in  it.  In  express  terms,  there 
is  absolutely  nothing  in  the  whole  law  upon  the 
subject — in  fact,  nothing  to  lead  a  reader  to  think 
of  the  subject.  To  my  judgment  it  is  equally  free 
from  everything  from  which  repeal  can  be  legally 
implied;  but  however  this  may  be,  are  men  now 
to  be  entrapped  by  a  legal  implication,  extracted 
from  covert  language,  introduced  perhaps  for  the 
very  purpose  of  entrapping  them?  I  sincerely  wish 
every  man  could  read  this  law  quite  through,  care- 
fully watching  every  sentence  and  every  line  for  a 
repeal  of  the  ordinance  of  '87,  or  anything  equiva- 
lent to  it. 

Another  point  on  the  Washington  act.  If  it 
was  intended  to  be  modeled  after  the  Utah  and 
New  Mexico  acts,  as  Judge  Douglas  insists,  why 
was  it  not  inserted  in  it,  as  in  them,  that  Washing- 
ton was  to  come  in  with  or  without  slavery  as  she 
may  choose  at  the  adoption  of  her  constitution?  It 
has  no  such  provision  in  it;  and  I  defy  the  in- 
genuity of  a  man  to  give  a  reason  for  the  omission, 
other  than  that  it  was  not  intended  to  follow  the 
Utah  and  New  Mexico  laws  in  regard  to  the  ques- 
tion of  slavery. 

59 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

The  Washington  act  not  only  differs  vitally 
from  the  Utah  and  New  Mexico  acts,  but  the  Ne- 
braska act  differs  vitally  from  both.  By  the  latter 
act  the  people  are  left  "perfectly  free"  to  regulate 
their  own  domestic  concerns,  etc.;  but  in  all  the 
former,  all  their  laws  are  to  be  submitted  to  Con- 
gress, and  if  disapproved  are  to  be  null.  The 
Washington  act  goes  even  further;  it  absolutely 
prohibits  the  territorial  legislature,  by  very  strong 
and  guarded  language,  from  establishing  banks  or 
borrowing  money  on  the  faith  of  the  Territory. 
Is  this  the  sacred  right  of  self-government  we  hear 
vaunted  so  much?  No  sir;  the  Nebraska  Bill  finds 
no  model  in  the  act  of  '50  or  the  Washington  act. 
It  finds  no  model  in  any  law  from  Adam  till  today. 
As  Phillips  says  of  Napoleon,  the  Nebraska  act  is 
grand,  gloomy  and  peculiar,  wrapped  in  the  soli- 
tude of  its  own  originality,  without  a  model  and 
without  a  shadow  upon  the  earth. 

In  the  course  of  his  reply  Senator  Douglas  re- 
marked in  substance  that  he  had  always  considered 
this  government  was  made  for  the  white  people 
and  not  for  the  negroes.  Why,  in  point  of  mere 
fact,  I  think  so  too.  But  in  this  remark  of  the 
judge  there  is  a  significance  which  I  think  is  the 
key  to  the  great  mistake  (if  there  is  any  such  mis- 
take)  which  he  has  made  in  this  Nebraska  meas- 

60 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN,     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


ure.  It  shows  that  the  judge  has  no  very  vivid  im- 
pression that  the  negro  is  human,  and  consequently 
has  no  idea  that  there  can  be  any  moral  question  in 
legislating  about  him.  In  his  view  the  question  of 
whether  a  new  country  shall  be  slave  or  free  is  a 
matter  of  as  utter  indifference  as  it  is  whether  his 
neighbor  shall  plant  his  farm  with  tobacco  or  stock 
it  with  horned  cattle.  Now,  whether  this  view  is 
right  or  wrong,  it  is  very  certain  that  the  great 
mass  of  mankind  take  a  totally  different  view. 
They  consider  slavery  a  great  moral  wrong,  and 
their  feeling  against  it  is  not  evanescent,  but  eter- 
nal. It  lies  at  the  very  foundation  of  their  sense  of 
justice,  and  it  cannot  be  trifled  with.  It  is  a  great 
and  durable  element  of  popular  action,  and  I  think 
no  statesman  can  safely  disregard  it. 

Our  Senator  also  objects  that  those  who  oppose 
him  in  this  matter  do  not  entirely  agree  with  one 
another.  He  reminds  me  that  in  my  firm  adher- 
ence to  the  constitutional  rights  of  the  slave  States, 
I  differ  widely  from  others  who  are  co-operating 
with  me  in  opposing  the  Nebraska  Bill,  and  he  says 
it  is  not  quite  fair  to  oppose  him  in  this  variety  of 
ways.  He  should  remember  that  he  took  us  by 
surprise — astounded  us  by  this  measure.  We  were 
thunderstruck  and  stunned,  and  we  reeled  and  fell 
in  utter  confusion.      But  we  rose,   each  fighting, 

61 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

grasping  whatever  he  could  first  reach — a  scythe, 
a  pitchfork,  a  chopping  ax,  or  a  butcher's  cleaver. 
We  struck  in  the  direction  of  the  sound,  and  we 
were  rapidly  closing  in  upon  him.  He  must  not 
think  to  divert  us  from  our  purpose  by  showing 
us  that  our  drill,  our  dress,  and  our  weapons  are 
not  entirely  perfect  and  uniform.  When  the 
storm  shall  be  past  he  shall  find  us  still  Americans, 
no  less  devoted  to  the  continued  union  and  pros- 
perity of  the  country  than  heretofore. 


62 


LINCOLN  AND  DOUGLAS 

THE  PEORIA  DEBATES 
and  LINCOLN'S  POWER 

A  Broadside  Published   in    1866   by  Wm.   H.   Herndon, 
of  Springfield,  111.,  Lincoln's  Law  Partner 

The  writer  of  this  has  been  placed  wrongly  on  a 
particular  record.  The  work  to  which  allusion  is 
made  is  a  Biography  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  written  and 
published  in  Springfield,  Mass.  I  have  hitherto 
abstained  from  exposing  the  mistake,  first,  because 
I  thought  it  might  injure  the  sale  of  the  Biog- 
raphy, and  secondly,  because  I  knew  the  people 
would  soon  see  the  error.  It  is  now  time  to  speak. 
The  facts  are  both  interesting  and  important:  they 
show  Douglas'  opinion  of  the  strength  of  Mr. 
Lincoln;  they  show  the  goodness  of  Mr.  Lincoln, 
and  they  explain  an  event  of  interest.  Hence  I 
assert  that  the  facts  are  interesting  and  important, 
and  should  therefore  be  known,  in  justice  to  all. 

Now  for  the  facts.  Senator  Douglas  made  a 
speech  in  the  city  of  Springfield,  Illinois,  in  1854. 
It  was  delivered  to  a  large  and  intelligent  audience 
in  the  Hall  of  the  House  of  Representatives, 
October  4th,  1854;  it  was  in  the  day  time,  and 
during  the  State  Fair.    Mr.  Lincoln  was  present  at 

63 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


the  speech,  heard  it  attentively,  took  notes,  and 
prepared  himself  to  answer  it  the  next  day.  The 
next  day — say  at  one  o'clock  P.  M. — Mr.  Lincoln 
made  his  appearance  in  the  same  hall  and  then  and 
there  spoke  to  a  similar  audience,  equal  in  num- 
ber and  intelligence.  Senator  Douglas  spoke  for 
about  two  and  one-half  hours  the  day  before.  Mr. 
Lincoln  spoke  on  the  5  th  day  of  October  about 
three  and  one-half  hours.  Much  enthusiasm  pre- 
vailed at  the  time  of  these  speeches.  Senator 
Douglas  replied  to  Mr.  Lincoln  on  the  same  day 
and  to  the  same  audience.  Douglas  in  reply  spoke 
eloquently  and  energetically  for  about  one  hour. 
Senator  Douglas  at  that  time  had  a  published  list 
of  appointments — say  commencing  at  Springfield, 
October  4th;  at  Peoria,  October  the  16th;  at  Lacon 
on  the  17th;  at  Princeton  on  the  18th,  and  at 
Aurora  on  the  19th.  Mr.  Lincoln's  friends  asked 
— nay,  actually  petitioned  Mr.  Lincoln — praying 
that  he  would  follow  Douglas  and  answer  him 
whenever  and  wherever  he  spoke.  Douglas  did 
go  to  Peoria  to  fill  his  appointments;  he  spoke  in 
Peoria  according  to  published  notice  on  the  16th 
of  October,  1854.  Mr.  Lincoln  did  follow  Sena- 
tor Douglas  to  Peoria  and  did  hear  him  speak — 
did  take  notes — did  arrange  them,  and  did  answer 
Senator  Douglas,  say  at  7  o'clock  in  the  evening  of 

64 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

that  day  in  the  same  house.  Senator  Douglas,  I 
presume,  was  present.  Senator  Douglas  replied,  as 
at  the  Hall  of  the  House  of  Representatives  in 
Springfield,  he  concluding  both  debates.  It  was 
the  fixed  determination  of  Mr.  Lincoln  to  follow 
Senator  Douglas  to  his  appointments,  and  to  the 
end.  He  had  made  full  preparations  to  go  to 
Lacon,  Princeton  and  Aurora,  as  well  as  elsewhere. 

After  the  debate  was  over  Senator  Douglas, 
probably  on  October  the  1  7th,  sent  for  Mr.  Lin- 
coln at  Peoria  or  on  the  way  to  Lacon.  Mr.  Lin- 
coln did  go  and  see  Senator  Douglas;  they  had  a 
private  conversation  about  the  speeches  that  were 
to  be  made.  Senator  Douglas  at  that  meeting  said 
to  Mr.  Lincoln  substantially,  if  not  in  words: 
"Mr.  Lincoln,  you  have  made  me  more  trouble  on 
this  Territorial  question,  and  the  facts  and  laws  of 
their  organization,  with  intents  and  purposes,  in 
the  government,  since  its  organization,  than  all  the 
members  of  the  Senate  of  the  United  States.  You 
know  what  trouble  they  have  given  me.  You  have 
given  me  more  trouble  than  all  the  opposition.  I 
now  propose  this  to  you:  If  you  will  go  home, 
and  make  no  more  speeches  at  my  appointments,  I 
will  go  to  no  more  of  my  published  places  of 
speaking,  and  remain  silent.  I  can  make  nothing 
off  you,  and  you  can't  off  me.  "Your  will  be  done, 
5  65 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


Senator  Douglas;  I  don't  wish  to  crowd  you/'  re- 
plied Mr.  Lincoln.  Douglas'  remaining  published 
places  were  Lacon,  Princeton  and  Aurora.  Sena- 
tor Douglas  did  go  to  Lacon.  Lincoln  did  follow. 
Senator  Douglas  made  some  excuse  to  his  friends 
at  this  place  that  his  throat  was  sore.  Mr.  Lincoln 
said  he  would  take  no  advantage  of  Senator  Doug- 
las'  situation. 

The  two  great  men  then  understood  each  other, 
and  Lincoln  in  kindness  and  nobleness  never  in- 
sinuated what  was  the  matter,  nor  did  he  crowd 
Senator  Douglas.  Mr.  Lincoln  made  his  promises 
in  good  faith  and  really  kept  them  to  the  end,  in- 
violate in  fact  and  spirit.  Mr.  Lincoln  returned 
to  his  home  in  the  city  of  Springfield,  Illinois, 
about  the  19th  of  October,  1854.  He  remained 
in  this  city  till  the  election  was  over,  making  no 
more  speeches,  I  say,  during  that  canvass.  Several 
of  Mr.  Lincoln's  friends  met  him  in  his  office 
some  days  after  the  19th  of  October.  Some  of 
these  men  were  the  original  petitioners  spoken  of 
before.  These  men,  or  some  of  them,  are  as  fol- 
lows: Peyton  L.  Harrison,  Benj.  F.  Irwin — a  pe- 
titioner— Isaac  Cogdall,  and  myself.  Mr.  Irwin 
probably  asked  him  why  he  did  not  follow  Sena- 
tor Douglas,  as  he  had  promised  to  do  as  under- 
stood.  This  placed  Mr.  Lincoln  in  a  dilemma;  his 

66 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


word  was  out  to  follow  and  answer  Senator 
Douglas  and  the  petitioner  asked  him  why  he  did 
not  follow.  Mr.  Lincoln  after  a  few  minutes'  re- 
flection then  told  the  reasons,  enjoining  privacy  on 
all  as  above  given;  he  good-naturedly  said  in  mit- 
igation or  excuse:  "Senator  Douglas  flattered  me 
into  the  arrangement,  and  you  must  not  blame 
me." 

A  few  months — say  one  or  two  months — after 
Mr.  Lincoln's  assassination,  a  gentleman  from 
Springfield,  Mass.,  came  into  my  office  and  pre- 
sented me  with  a  letter  of  introduction  from  a 
friend  in  Chicago,  as  my  memory  serves  me. 
Probably  the  letter  was  from  my  friend,  Horace 
White,  of  the  Chicago  Tribune.  The  New  Eng- 
land gentleman — a  member  of  the  Massachusetts 
Historical  Society — was  informed  probably  at 
Chicago  that  I  was  writing  an  analytical  life  of 
Mr.  Lincoln:  he  was  so  informed  in  this  city.  He 
made  known  his  business  and  asked  me  several 
questions,  none  of  which  did  I  object  to.  I  was 
really  desirous  of  helping  the  gentleman,  and  so 
told  him.  I  answered  the  questions  quickly, 
frankly  and  truthfully;  he  was  with  me  taking 
notes  for  parts  of  two  days.  I  told  him  many 
things,  without  being  asked,  it  may  be.  I  quit  my 
business,  dropped  my  professional  duties  for  those 

67 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


parts  of  days,  in  order  to  accommodate  and  assist 
the  man.  He  got  from  me  what  I  think  valuable; 
he  evidently  thought  so,  because  he  used  it  in  the 
Biography,  with  Mr.  Lincoln's  strong,  gnarly  sen- 
tences toned  down,  in  some  instances,  to  suit  an 
over-refined,  distorted  taste,  as  I  think.  The 
Massachusetts  gentleman  goes  back  to  his  home  in 
the  East,  sits  down  in  his  office,  and  pens  the  fol- 
lowing lines,  at  pages  141  and  142,  speaking  of 
the  Peoria  debate  and  what    I  told  him: 

"At  the  close  of  the  debate,  the  two  combatants 
held  a  conference,  the  result  of  which  has  been 
variously  reported.  One  authority  *  (*William 
H.  Herndon,  in  a  foot  note)  states  that  Mr. 
Douglas  sent  for  Mr.  Lincoln,  and  told  him  that 
if  he  would  speak  no  more  during  the  campaign, 
he  (Douglas)  would  go  home  and  remain  silent 
during  the  same  period,  and  that  this  arrangement 
was  agreed  upon,  and  its  terms  fulfilled.  That 
there  was  a  conference  on  the  subjects  sought, 
there  is  no  doubt,  and  there  is  no  doubt  that  Mr. 
Lincoln  promised  not  to  challenge  him  again  to 
debate,  during  the  canvass,  but  abundant  evidence 
exists  that  Mr.  Lincoln  did  not  leave  the  field  at 
all,  but  spoke  in  various  parts  of  the  State." 

I  am  not  objecting  to  the  manner  of  his  state- 
ment, though  that  is  not  correct,     I  am  not  raising 

68 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


any  objection  on  that  issue.  Let  it  stand  as  it  is. 
I  have  italicized  some  words  which  are  not  in  the 
original.  Here  is  a  direct  assertion,  on  my  part, 
that  Mr.  Lincoln  said  as  above  stated  by  me.  I 
did  make  the  assertion  as  I  state  it.  Here  in 
the  book,  in  the  sentence  quoted,  is  a  denial  of 
what  I  said  and  now  repeat.  Would  it  not  have 
been  quite  gentlemanly  for  the  man  to  have  given 
me  a  chance  to  correct  the  error,  by  informing  me 
of  it  by  letter,  or  otherwise?  If  he  did  not  choose 
so  to  do,  would  it  not  have  been  quite  gentlemanly 
to  have  left  my  name  out  as  the  author  of  the 
story,  or  even  a  part  of  it?  There  is  an  allega- 
tion that  after  the  16th  of  October,  1854,  and 
after  Mr.  Lincoln's  agreement  with  Senator 
Douglas,  Mr.  Lincoln,  during  the  canvass  of 
that  year,  did  on  various  occasions  and  places 
address  the  people  of  Illinois  on  the  questions  of 
the  day.  One  of  three  things  is  true:  First,  I  told 
a  lie;  second,  that  Mr.  Lincoln  acted  in  bad  faith — 
broke  his  sacred  honor  by  addressing  the  people 
after  the  16th  of  October;  or,  third,  that  the  gen- 
tleman has  no  abundant  evidence  to  prove  that 
Mr.  Lincoln,  after  that  16th  day,  did  speak  "in 
various  parts  of  the  State."  But  suppose  that  Mr. 
Lincoln  and  myself  are  correct,  then  what?  Let 
me  state  a  fact  here,  by  way  of  note  as  it  were.     It 

69 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

is  said  to  me,  on  what  I  consider  good  author- 
ity, that  Senator  Douglas  did  speak  at  Prince- 
ton, on  the  18th  day  of  October,  contrary  to  his 
agreement  with  Mr.  Lincoln.  I  regret  to  learn 
this,  and  leave  an  explanation  to  come  from  Sena- 
tor Douglas'  friend,  who  should,  for  his  credit,  in- 
vestigate the  matter  thoroughly  and  well.  Senator 
Douglas  may  have  been  driven  to  this  by  the  peo- 
ple— the  Democrats  and  Republicans  at  that  place 
and  time;  or  he  may  have  been  bantered  into  it  by 
the  Republicans,  who  had  then  and  there  an  elo- 
quent champion  on  the  spot,  ready  and  anxious  to 
answer  Senator  Douglas.  The  gentleman  here 
spoken  of,  or  alluded  to,  was  the  Hon.  Owen 
Lovejoy.  There  is  some  excuse,  some  explanation, 
some  probable  cause  why  Senator  Douglas  spoke 
at  Princeton,  somewhere,  and  it  can  be  found  out. 

Now,  as  to  that  abundant  evidence,  let  us  see. 
Mr.  Lincoln  returned  to  his  home  in  this  city 
about  the  19th  day  of  October — three  days  after 
the  Peoria  debate;  he  sat  down  and  here  com- 
menced writing  out,  as  rapidly  as  he  could,  his  Peo- 
ria speech,  which,  in  substance,  is  the  Springfield 
speech,  with  the  fire  died  out,  made  October  the 
5th;  he  was  a  candidate  for  the  State  Legislature 
at  that  time,  probably  against  his  will.  The  San- 
gamon Circuit  Court  was  coming  on  apace  and  he 

70 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

must  turn  some  of  his  attention  to  these  things. 
The  first  part  of  Mr.  Lincoln's  speech  appears  in 
the  Illinois  Daily  Journal  (now  called),  October 
2  1st.  The  entire  speech  runs  through  seven  num- 
bers of  the  Daily  Journal.  Mr.  Lincoln  was  at 
home,  writing  out  and  correcting  the  proof  sheets 
of  his  speech.  I  well  know,  well  remember  this. 
I  so  assert  this  now.  The  full  speech,  as  written 
out  by  Mr.  Lincoln,  first  appeared  as  it  now  stands 
in  the  Weekly  Journal,  November  2nd,  1854,  No. 
1,  213.  The  November  election,  by  the  Consti- 
tution and  laws  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  took  place 
— came  off — on  the  7th  day  of  November,  1854. 
There  are  five  days  between  the  2nd  of  November 
and  the  7th.  Will  some  gentleman  show  or  pro- 
cure that  abundant  evidence  spoken  of?  Will 
some  good  man  show  that  Mr.  Lincoln  made, 
after  the  16th  of  October,  various  speeches  to  the 
people  of  Illinois,  during  the  canvass  of  that  year? 
Will  some  searching,  inquiring  mind  show  any 
evidence  by  the  record  that  Mr.  Lincoln  spoke  at 
all  after  the  day  agreed  upon  between  Senator 
Douglas  and  himself?  I  aver  that  there  is  no 
such  abundant  evidence  of  record,  nor  other  well 
authenticated  evidence  anywhere.  No  man  can 
show  that  Mr.  Lincoln  violated  his  sacred  honor. 
No  man  can  show  that  Mr.  Lincoln  ever  addressed 

71 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


the  people  after  his  promise.  I  aver  that  he  told 
me — rather  told  Benj.  F.  Irwin,  Peyton  L.  Har- 
rison, Isaac  Cogdall  and  myself — that  he  had  made 
the  agreement  with  Senator  Douglas  substantially 
as  I  state  it.  Men  may  carelessly,  loosely  say  that 
Mr.  Lincoln  did  violate  his  honor,  by  saying  that 
he  did  speak  contrary  to  the  above  agreement.  For 
Mr.  Lincoln's  sake,  and  for  my  own  sake,  I  appeal 
to  and  ask  for  the  record  or  any  other  valid,  relia- 
ble evidence.  If  I  assert,  as  I  do,  these  things,  I 
wilfully  tell  falsehood;  and  I  ought  to  have  no 
quarter,  and  because  of  that  I  ask  for  none. 

Feeling  that  I  have  been  badly  treated,  and  mis- 
placed, as  it  were,  wantonly,  on  the  record,  I  am 
compelled  in  self-defense  to  publish  this  letter.  It 
is  probable  that  the  Biographer  would,  in  another 
edition  of  the  work,  correct  the  error,  but  I  know 
of  no  law  compelling  me  to  wait  for  that  con- 
tingency. The  publication  of  this  letter  cannot 
injure  the  sale  of  his  life  of  Mr.  Lincoln. 

Truly  yours, 

W.  H.  HERNDON. 


72 


Chapter  Six 

Nicolay  and  Hay  in  their  life  of  Lincoln  speak 
of  the  encounter  of  Judge  Douglas  and  Lincoln 
at  the  Illinois  State  Fair  at  Springfield  as  a  debate. 
This  is  hardly  correct,  as  State  Fair  Week  was  an 
occasion  when  speakers  from  all  parts  presented 
their  views  and  the  custom  was  followed  at  this 
time — Lincoln  and  Douglas  speaking  upon  differ- 
ent days. 

Their  account  of  the  Peoria  meeting  and  com- 
ments upon  Lincoln's  speech  are  of  so  much  in- 
terest that  I  venture  to  reproduce  here  what  they 
have  to  say.  (Vol.  1,  Page  378,  "Abraham  Lin- 
coln," Nicolay  and  Hay.) 

"Douglas  made  his  speech,  according  to  notice, 
on  the  first  day  of  the  fair,  Tuesday,  October  3. 
'I  will  mention,'  said  he  in  his  opening  remarks, 
'that  it  is  understood  by  some  gentlemen  that  Mr. 
Lincoln,  of  this  city,  is  expected  to  answer  me. 
If  this  is  the  understanding,  I  wish  that  Mr.  Lin- 
coln would  step  forward  and  let  us  arrange  some 
plan  upon  which  to  carry  out  this  discussion.'  Mr. 
Lincoln  was  not  there  at  the  moment,  and  the 
arrangement  could  not  then  be  made.  Unpropiti- 
ous  weather  had  brought  the  meeting  to  the  Rep- 
resentatives' Hall  in  the  State  House,  which  was 

73 


SENATOR   STEPHEN   A.   DOUGLAS 

"The  first  duty  of  an  American  citizen  is  obedience  to 
the  Constitution  and  Laws  of  his  Country." 

— Stephen  A.  Douglas. 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


densely  packed.  The  next  day  found  the  same 
hall  filled  as  before  to  hear  Mr.  Lincoln.  Douglas 
occupied  a  seat  just  in  front  of  him,  and  in  his 
rejoinder  he  explained  that  'my  friend  Mr.  Lin- 
coln expressly  invited  me  to  stay  and  hear  him 
speak  today,  as  he  heard  me  yesterday,  and  to 
answer  and  defend  myself  as  best  I  could.  I  here 
thank  him  for  his  courteous  offer/  The  occasion 
greatly  equalized  the  relative  standing  of  the 
champions.  The  familiar  surroundings,  the  pres- 
ence and  hearty  encouragement  of  his  friends,  put 
Lincoln  in  his  best  vein.  His  bubbling  humor, 
his  perfect  temper,  and,  above  all,  the  overwhelm- 
ing current  of  his  historical  arraignment  extorted 
the  admiration  of  even  his  political  enemies.  'His 
speech  was  four  hours  in  length,'  wrote  one  of 
these,  'and  was  conceived  and  expressed  in  a  most 
happy  and  pleasant  style,  and  was  received  with 
abundant  applause.  At  times  he  made  statements 
which  brought  Senator  Douglas  to  his  feet,  and 
then  good-humored  passages  of  wit  created  much 
interest  and  enthusiasm.'  All  reports  plainly  in- 
dicate that  Douglas  was  astonished  and  discon- 
certed at  this  unexpected  strength  of  argument, 
and  that  he  struggled  vainly  through  a  two  hours' 
rejoinder  to  break  the  force  of  Lincoln's  victory 
in  the  debate.     Lincoln  had  hitherto  been  the  fore- 

75 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


most  man  in  his  district.     That  single  effort  made 
him  the  leader  on  the  new  question  in  his  State. 

"The  fame  of  this  success  brought  Lincoln  ur- 
gent calls  from  all  the  places  where  Douglas  was 
expected  to  speak.  Accordingly,  twelve  days 
afterwards,  October  16,  they  once  more  met  in 
debate  at  Peoria.  Lincoln,  as  before,  gave  Doug- 
las the  opening  and  closing  speeches,  explaining 
that  he  was  willing  to  yield  this  advantage  in 
order  to  secure  a  hearing  from  the  Democratic  por- 
tion of  his  listeners.  The  audience  was  a  large 
one,  but  not  so  representative  in  its  character  as 
that  at  Springfield.  The  occasion  was  made  mem- 
orable, however,  by  the  fact  that  when  Lincoln 
returned  home  he  wrote  out  and  published  his 
speech.  We  have  therefore  the  revised  text  of  his 
argument,  and  are  able  to  estimate  its  character 
and  value.  Marking  as  it  does  with  unmistakable 
precision  a  step  in  the  second  period  of  his  intellec- 
tual development,  it  deserves  the  careful  attention 
of  the  student  of  his  life. 

"After  the  lapse  of  more  than  a  quarter  of  a 
century  the  critical  reader  still  finds  it  a  model  of 
brevity,  directness,  terse  diction,  exact  and  lucid 
historical  statement,  and  full  of  logical  proposi- 
tions so  short  and  so  strong  as  to  resemble  mathe- 
matical axioms.    Above  all  it  is  pervaded  by  an 

76 


NEAR  THIS  SPOT   OCCURRED  THE  FAMOUS 
-C"        POLITICAL  DEBATE   BETWEEN  , 

&     ABRAHAM   LINCOLN 

AND 

|?  STEPHEN  A.DOUGLAS 

OCTOBER  16,1854 

...a  HEIGHT  OP  A  GENERATION  OF  FREE 
e  government:'  "THE  PEOPLE'S  WILL  1ST 


UTY  OF  AN  AMERICAN  CITIZEN  IS  OBEDIENC 
ON  AND  LAWS  OF  HIS  COUNTRY."  .' 


-  wtECTED  BY  GEORGE  A.WILSON  CIRCLE  NO  49 

LADIES  OF  THE  GRAND  ARMY  OF  THE  REPUBLIC 


BRONZE  PLATE  ON  THE  PRESENT  PEORIA  COUNTY 
COURT  HOUSE 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

elevation  of  thought  and  aim  that  lifts  it  out  of 
the  commonplace  of  mere  party  controversy. 
Comparing  it  with  his  later  speeches,  we  find  it  to 
contain  not  only  the  argument  of  the  hour,  but 
the  premonition  of  the  broader  issues  into  which 
the  new  struggle  was  destined  soon  to  expand. 

"The  main,  broad  current  of  his  reasoning  was 
to  vindicate  and  restore  the  policy  of  the  fathers 
of  the  country  in  the  restriction  of  slavery;  but 
running  through  this  like  a  thread  of  gold  was  the 
demonstration  of  the  essential  injustice  and  im- 
morality of  the  system.     He  said: 

'This  declared  indifference  but,  as  I  must 
think,  covert  zeal  for  the  spread  of  slavery,  I  can- 
not but  hate.  I  hate  it  because  of  the  monstrous 
injustice  of  slavery  itself.  I  hate  it  because  it 
deprives  our  republican  example  of  its  just  in- 
fluence in  the  world;  enables  the  enemies  of  free 
institutions  with  plausibility  to  taunt  us  as  hypo- 
crites; causes  the  real  friends  of  freedom  to  doubt 
our  sincerity;  and  especially  because  it  forces  so 
many  really  good  men  among  ourselves  into  an 
open  war  with  the  very  fundamental  principles  of 
civil  liberty,  criticizing  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence and  insisting  that  there  is  no  right  prin- 
ciple of  action  but  self-interest. 

78 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,      ILLINOIS 


'The  doctrine  of  self-government  is  right — 
absolutely  and  eternally  right — but  it  has  no  just 
application  as  here  attempted.  Or  perhaps  I 
should  rather  say  that  whether  it  has  such  just 
application  depends  upon  whether  a  negro  is  not, 
or  is,  a  man.  If  he  is  not  a  man,  in  that  case  he 
who  is  a  man  may  as  a  matter  of  self-government 
do  just  what  he  pleases  with  him.  But  if  the 
negro  is  a  man,  is  it  not  to  that  extent  a  total 
destruction  of  self-government  to  say  that  he  too 
shall  not  govern  himself?  When  the  white  man 
governs  himself,  that  is  self-government;  but 
when  he  governs  himself  and  also  governs  another 
man,  that  is  more  than  self-government — that  is 
despotism. 

'What  I  do  say  is,  that  no  man  is  good  enough 
to  govern  another  man  without  that  other's 
consent. 

'The  master  not  only  governs  the  slave  with- 
out his  consent,  but  he  governs  him  by  a  set  of 
rules  altogether  different  from  those  which  he 
prescribes  for  himself.  Allow  all  the  governed  an 
equal  voice  in  the  government;  that,  and  that 
only,  is  self-government. 

'  'Slavery  is  founded  in  the  selfishness  of  man's 
nature — opposition  to  it,  in  his  love  of  justice. 
These  principles  are  an  eternal  antagonism;   and 

79 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

when  brought  into  collision  so  fiercely  as  slavery 
extension  brings  them,  shocks  and  throes  and  con- 
vulsions must  ceaselessly  follow.  Repeal  the  Mis- 
souri Compromise — repeal  all  compromise — re- 
peal the  Declaration  of  Independence — repeal  all 
past  history — still  you  cannot  repeal  human 
nature. 

'I  particularly  object  to  the  new  position 
which  the  avowed  principle  of  this  Nebraska  law 
gives  to  slavery  in  the  body  politic.  I  object  to  it 
because  it  assumes  that  there  can  be  moral  right  in 
the  enslaving  of  one  man  by  another.  I  object  to 
it  as  a  dangerous  dalliance  for  a  free  people — a  sad 
evidence  that,  feeling  prosperity,  we  forget  right — 
that  liberty  as  a  principle  we  have  ceased  to  revere. 
1  'Little  by  little,  but  steadily  as  man's  march 
to  the  grave,  we  have  been  giving  up  the  old  for 
the  new  faith.  Near  eighty  years  ago  we  began 
by  declaring  that  all  men  are  created  equal;  but 
now  from  that  beginning  we  have  run  down  to 
the  other  declaration  that  for  some  men  to  en- 
slave others  is  a  'sacred  right  of  self-government.' 
These  principles  cannot  stand  together.  They  are 
as  opposite  as  God  and  Mammon. 

'Our  republican  robe  is  soiled  and  trailed  in 
the  dust.  Let  us  repurify  it.  Let  us  turn  and 
wash  it  white  in  the  spirit,  if  not  the  blood,  of 

80 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,      ILLINOIS 


the  Revolution.  Let  us  turn  slavery  from  its 
claims  of  "moral  right"  back  upon  its  existing 
legal  rights,  and  its  arguments  of  ''necessity/'  Let 
us  return  it  to  the  position  our  fathers  gave  it, 
and  there  let  it  rest  in  peace.  Let  us  readopt  the 
Declaration  of  Independence,  and  the  practices  and 
policy  which  harmonize  with  it.  Let  North  and 
South — let  all  Americans — let  all  lovers  of  lib- 
erty everywhere  join  in  the  great  and  good  work. 
If  we  do  this,  we  shall  not  only  have  saved  the 
Union,  but  we  shall  have  so  saved  it  as  to  make 
and  to  keep  it  forever  worthy  of  the  saving.  We 
shall  have  so  saved  it  that  the  succeeding  millions 
of  free,  happy  people,  the  world  over,  shall  rise 
up  and  call  us  blessed  to  the  latest  generations/ 


81 


Chapter  Seven 

These  recollections  of  my  boyhood  days  are 
as  pictures  of  the  old  masters  whose  colors  remain 
vivid  through  all  the  years.  No  words  of  mine 
can  better  describe  what  memory  recalls  of  those 
stirring  days  than  the  following  from  the  pen  of 
the  special  correspondent  of  the  New  York  Post, 
written  four  years  after  Lincoln  and  Douglas  met 
in  Peoria: 

"It  is  astonishing  how  deep  an  interest  in 
politics  this  people  take.  Over  long  weary  miles 
of  hot  and  dusty  prairie  the  processions  of  eager 
partisans  come — on  foot,  on  horseback,  in  wagons 
drawn  by  horses  or  mules;  men,  women  and  chil- 
dren, old  and  young;  the  half  sick,  just  out  of  the 
last  'shake';  children  in  arms,  infants  at  the  mater- 
nal fount,  pushing  on  in  clouds  of  dust  and  be- 
neath the  blazing  sun;  settling  down  at  the  town 
where  the  meeting  is,  with  hardly  a  chance  for 
sitting,  and  even  less  opportunity  for  eating,  wait- 
ing in  anxious  groups  for  hours  at  the  places  of 
speaking,  talking,  discussing,  litigious,  vociferous, 
while  the  war  artillery,  the  music  of  the  bands, 
the  waving  of  banners,  the  huzzahs  of  the  crowds, 
as  delegation  after  delegation  appears;  the  cry  of 
the  peddlers  vending  all  sorts  of  ware,   from  an 

83 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


infallible  cure  of  'agur'  to  a  monster  watermelon 
in  slices  to  suit  purchasers — combine  to  render  the 
occasion  one  scene  of  confusion  and  commotion. 
The  hour  of  one  arrives  and  a  perfect  rush  is  made 
for  the  grounds;  a  column  of  dust  is  rising  to  the 


ILLUSTRATION  USED  ON  POLITICAL  BANNERS 
IN  1854 

heavens  and  fairly  deluging  those  who  are  hurry- 
ing on  through  it.  Then  the  speakers  come  with 
flags,  and  banners,  and  music,  surrounded  by 
cheering  partisans.  Their  arrival  at  the  ground 
and  immediate  approach  to  the  stand  are  the  signal 
for  shouts  that  rend  the  heavens.  They  are  in- 
troduced to  the  audience  amidst  prolonged  and 
enthusiastic  cheers;  they  are  interrupted  by  fre- 
quent applause;  and  they  sit  down  finally  amid 

84 


PEORIA  COUNTY  COURT  HOUSE  AT  THE  TIME  OF  THE 
LINCOLN   ADDRESS,    OCTOBER    16,    1854 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


the  same  uproarious  demonstration.  The  audience 
sit  or  stand  patiently  throughout,  and,  as  the  last 
word  is  spoken,  make  a  break  for  their  homes, 
first  hunting  up  lost  members  of  their  families, 
getting  their  scattered  wagonloads  together,  and, 
as  the  daylight  fades  away,  entering  again  upon 
the  broad  prairies  and  slowly  picking  their  way 
back  to  the  place  of  beginning." 

In  1854  the  old  Court  House  stood  in  the 
same  place  as  the  present  one.  From  the  north 
corner  of  the  square,  extending  to  the  foot  of  the 
bluff  and  running  through  where  now  stands  the 
Woman's  Club  House,  was  an  avenue  of  locust 
trees  fragrant  in  blossom  time.  Around  the  square 
were  hitching  racks  to  which  were  tied  horses  and 
mules  attached  to  vehicles  of  every  description. 
Delegations  arriving  were  preceded  by  floats. 
Usually  there  was  one  containing  Miss  Columbia, 
surrounded  by  young  ladies  in  white,  wearing 
sashes  upon  which  were  lettered  the  names  of  the 
States  represented.  I  recall  my  mother  entertain- 
ing one  such,  and  improvising  for  them  beds  upon 
the  floor.  To  cook  for  thirty  or  forty  was  no 
trick  for  the  efficient  housewife  of  those  days. 
Flags  were  almost  invariably  mounted  upon  sap- 

86 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


lings  with  a  bunch  of  leaves  at  the  top.  At  night 
illuminations  glowed  from  candles  set  in  rows  in 
windows.     It  is  all  a  glorious  memory. 


87 


Chapter  Eight 

It  will  be  noted  that  the  writer  has  taken  for 
his  text — "I  saw  and  heard  Lincoln  and  Douglas 
when  a  boy."  This  only!  Variety  may  lead  me 
far  afield  in  striving  to  impart  a  personal  touch 
to  my  sketch,  but  I  have  found  that  children  enjoy 
those  stories  most  to  which  one  adds  a  relation- 
ship, no  matter  how  remote.  And  what  are  we 
all  but  grown  up  children — robbed  of  their  bloom 
and  touched  with  the  canker  of  egotistic  wisdom! 
For  wisdom  is  the  name  we  give  our  knowledge 
of  evil,  whereas  true  wisdom  dwells  only  in  the 
innocence  of  childhood.  Probably  no  one  stood 
higher  in  the  esteem  and  confidence  of  Lincoln 
than  Colonel  Alexander  K.  McClure,  whose  first 
wife  was  a  cousin  of  my  father. 

The  following  is  an  account  of  Colonel 
McClure: 

Colonel  Alexander  K.  McClure,  the  editorial 
director  of  the  Philadelphia  Times,  which  he 
founded  in  1875,  began  his  forceful  career  as  a 
tanner's  apprentice  in  the  mountains  of  Pennsyl- 
vania three  score  years  ago.  He  tanned  hides  all 
day,  and  read  exchanges  at  nights  in  a  neighboring 
weekly  newspaper  office.  The  learned  tanner's  boy 
also  became  the  aptest  tanner  in  the  county,  and 

89 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


the  editor  testified  his  admiration  for  young 
McClure's  attainments  by  sending  him  to  edit  a 
new  weekly  paper  which  the  exigencies  of  politics 
called  into  being  in  an  adjoining  county. 

The  lad  was  over  six  feet  high,  had  the  thews 
of  Ajax  and  the  voice  of  Boanerges,  and  knew 
enough  about  shoe-leather  not  to  be  afraid  of  any 
man  that  stood  in  it.  He  made  his  paper  a  suc- 
cess, went  into  politics  and  made  that  a  success, 
studied  law  with  William  McLellan  and  made 
that  a  success,  and  actually  went  into  the  army 
and  made  that  a  success,  by  an  interesting  accident 
which  brought  him  into  close  personal  relations 
with  Abraham  Lincoln,  whom  he  had  helped  to 
nominate,  serving  as  chairman  of  the  Republican 
State  Committee  of  Pennsylvania  through  the 
campaign. 

In  1862  the  Government  needed  troops  badly, 
and  in  each  Pennsylvania  county  Republicans 
and  Democrats  were  appointed  to  assist  in  the 
enrollment,  under  the  State  laws.  McClure,  work- 
ing day  and  night  at  Harrisburg,  saw  conscripts 
coming  in  at  the  rate  of  a  thousand  a  day,  only  to 
fret  in  idleness  against  the  army  red-tape  which 
held  them  there  instead  of  sending  a  regiment  a 
day  to  the  front,  as  McClure  demanded  should  be 
done.     The  military  officer  continued  to  dispatch 

90 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


two  companies  a  day — leaving  the  mass  of  the 
conscripts  to  be  fed  by  the  contractors. 

McClure  went  to  Washington  and  said  to  the 
President,  "You  must  send  a  mustering  officer  to 
Harrisburg  who  will  do  as  I  say;  I  can't  stay 
there  any  longer  under  existing  conditions." 

Lincoln  sent  into  another  room  for  Adjutant- 
General  Thomas.  ''General/'  said  he,  "what  is 
the  highest  rank  of  military  officer  at  Harrisburg?" 
"Captain,  sir,"  said  Thomas.  "Bring  me  a  com- 
mission for  an  Assistant  Adjutant-General  of  the 
United  States  Army,"  said  Lincoln. 

So  Adjutant-General  McClure  was  mustered 
in,  and  after  that  a  regiment  a  day  of  boys  in  blue 
left  Harrisburg  for  the  front.  Colonel  McClure 
is  one  of  the  group  of  great  Celt-American  editors 
which  included  Medill,  McCullagh  and  McLean. 

Long  after  the  war  Colonel  McClure  collected 
and  published  a  book  of  Lincoln  stories — "Lin- 
coln's Own  Yarns  and  Stories."  This  one  inter- 
ested me: 

"HOW  HE  GOT  BLACKSTONE" 
The  following  story  was  told  by  Mr.  Lincoln 
to  Mr.  A.  J.  Conant,  the  artist,  who  painted  his 
portrait  in  Springfield  in  1860: 

"One  day  a  man  who  was  migrating  to  the 
West  drove  up  in  front  of  my  store  with  a  wagon 

91 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

which  contained  his  family  and  household  plun- 
der. He  asked  me  if  I  would  buy  an  old  barrel  for 
which  he  had  no  room  in  his  wagon,  and  which 
he  said  contained  nothing  of  special  value.  I  did 
not  want  it,  but  to  oblige  him  I  bought  it,  and 
paid  him,  I  think,  half  a  dollar  for  it.  Without 
further  examination,  I  put  it  away  in  the  store 
and  forgot  all  about  it.  Some  time  after,  in  over- 
hauling things,  I  came  upon  the  barrel,  and, 
emptying  it  upon  the  floor  to  see  what  it  con- 
tained, I  found  at  the  bottom  of  the  rubbish  a 
complete  edition  of  Blackstone's  Commentaries. 
I  began  to  read  those  famous  works,  and  I  had 
plenty  of  time;  for  during  the  long  summer  days, 
when  the  farmers  were  busy  with  their  crops,  my 
customers  were  few  and  far  between.  The  more  I 
read" — this  he  said  with  unusual  emphasis — "the 
more  intensely  interested  I  became.  Never  in  my 
whole  life  was  my  mind  so  thoroughly  absorbed. 
I  read  until  I  devoured  them." 

Grant  Wright  is  an  artist — a  Peoria  boy — with 
a  studio  in  New  York.  Some  time  ago  he  sent 
me  a  "leaf  from  my  sketch  book."  It  is  a  pencil 
portrait  of  Conant,  then  in  his  94th  year.  (A 
photograph  of  the  original  is  shown  on  another 
page.)  The  sketch  was  made  November  12th, 
1914.  Below  the  picture  Grant  has  written:  "Dear 

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ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


Cloyd:  On  the  opposite  side  is  a  little  talk  I  had 
with  this  grand  old  man  of  the  Art  World  just 
before  he  died.  He  painted  from  life  the  only 
smiling  Lincoln — the  portrait  is  now  in  the 
Phillipsie  Manor,  Yonkers.  I  also  record  the  re- 
porter's story  of  the  New  York  Herald  two  years 
before."  On  the  back  of  the  leaf  he  writes  as 
follows: 

"Mr.  Conant  passes  his  declining  years  with 
his  daughter,  Mrs.  Smith.  His  portrait  of  Gen- 
eral Anderson,  whom  he  esteemed  very  highly,  we 
worked  on  with  great  zeal  and  a  study  for  perfect 
detail  as  to  surroundings,  drapery,  etc. — cannon, 
carriage,  flag  backers.  The  grand  old  man  always 
bids  one  a  farewell.   N.  Y.  Herald,  1912." 

"DearB.  C: 

"Eight  years  ago  I  made  this  sketch  in  this 
grand  old  man's  studio  (59W.  10th  St.) ,  a  build- 
ing devoted  to  the  welfare  of  what  we  call  the  an- 
cient and  honorables  in  the  Art  World.  The  build- 
ing is  full  of  studios  of  past  masters  in  the  Arts 
who  had  passed  the  three  score  and  ten  and  were 
yet  progressive  and  productive.  Thos.  Wood,  Ed- 
ward Gay,  Seymour  Guy,  Wm.  M.  Chase,  at  one 
time  had  their  studios  there — this  to  describe  the 
old  10th  St.  Studio  Building.  In  1916  the  old 
gentleman  passed  to  the  great  beyond   (96  years 

93 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


old).  He  was  one  of  the  most  lovable  characters 
— one  of  the  grandest  men — and  his  relation  with 
past  history  made  him  mighty  interesting.  He 
had  in  his  studio  Gen.  Anderson's  picture  and,  of 
course,  the  smiling  face  of  Lincoln,  whom  he  loved 
to  talk  about.  He  told  me  how  Lincoln  described 
to  him  one  of  his  forensic  spars  with  Douglas — 
how  Douglas  had  accused  him  of  everything  from 
being  a  failure  to  a  disloyalist.  'He  comes  to  you 
after  voting  in  Congress  to  withhold  supplies 
from  our  soldiers  in  Mexico' — said  Douglas,  'be- 
cause he  was  opposed  to  the  Mexican  war.  This 
man  who  has  made  a  failure  at  everything  he  has 
undertaken;  he  wras  a  failure  as  a  farmer;  as  a  sur- 
veyor; as  lawyer;  as  soldier — yes,  and  as  a  saloon 
keeper — he  couldn't  make  a  living  a  decent  one 
selling  rum,  and  now  he  comes  to  you  asking  for 
my  seat  in  the  Senate.'  Here  old  man  Conant 
told  me  Lincoln  chuckled  like  a  school  boy. 
'Then,'  said  Lincoln,  'it  was  my  turn.  I  thanked 
Judge  Douglas  for  having  such  an  accurate  biog- 
raphy of  me — he  covers  my  pedigree  about  as  well 
as  any  one  could,  but  about  my  vote  on  the  Mexi- 
can affair — here  is  Judge  Fithian  (or  Fitter)  who 
is  a  Democrat  colleague  of  Douglas,  let  him  say. 
I  brought  Fithian  right  out  of  his  audience — 
brought  him  up  on  the  platform  and  made  him 

94 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


admit  that  I  was  not  in  Congress  when  the  ques- 
tion of  appropriation  for  the  soldiers  was  voted 
on.'  Then,  said  Mr.  Conant,  Lincoln  chuckled 
again.  1  said  yes,  Judge  Douglas  certainly  covered 
me  pretty  close.  I  was  a  failure  as  a  politician.  I 
was  a  failure  as  a  surveyor.  I  was  a  failure  as  a 
lawyer,  but  Judge  Douglas  has  neglected  to  say  in 
his  castigation  of  me  as  a  barkeeper  that  when  I 
was  on  one  side  of  the  bar,  he  was  always  on  the 
other' — this  brought  down  the  house,  and  Judge 
Douglas  was  laughed  off  the  platform.' 

"He  told  me  of  his  first  visit  to  New  York,  of 
his  call  on  Henry  Inman — how  he  came  forward 
to  greet  him,  and  how  he  invited  him  to  sit  down 
by  his  side  while  he  worked,  which  was  then  on  a 
portrait  of  Bishop  Hughes — how  he  questioned 
Mr.  Conant,  then  but  a  boy,  about  what  he  had 
been  doing  around  town.  'I  told  him  I  had  been 
up  to  see  Mr.  Coleman's  exhibit  of  pictures,  when 
he  said,  'What  did  you  think  of  them?'  I  being  in 
the  first  flush  of  youth,  and  enthusiastic,  told 
him  I  was  enraptured  over  them.  He  said,  'Rot, 
they're  all  forgeries,'  and  from  that  time  on  I 
made  up  my  mind  I  will  make  a  more  thorough 
investigation  and  go  deeper  into  things  before 
commenting.  Mr.  Inman  had  his  studio  on  Broad- 
way, and  was  working  on  a  portrait,  or  had 
just  finished  a  portrait,  of  Bishop  Onderdonk." 

95 


Chapter  Nine 

In  1858,  Captain  James  N.  Brown,  a  native  of 
Kentucky,  was  a  candidate  upon  the  Republican 
ticket  for  the  Legislature.  Being  assailed  for  run- 
ning upon  the  same  ticket  with  a  "Black  Aboli- 
tionist," he  wrote  to  Lincoln  for  something 
authoritative.  Lincoln  procured  a  small  memo- 
randum book  in  which  he  pasted  newspaper  ex- 
tracts of  speeches  he  had  made  during  the  previous 
several  years.  I  have  in  my  possession  a  photo- 
graphic reproduction  of  this  book  made  by  my 
friend,  J.  McCan  Davis,  whose  father — still  living 
— was  my  comrade  in  the  Civil  War.  This  book, 
Davis  says,  is  the  only  book  ever  written  by  Lin- 
coln. References  to  extracts  are  in  Lincoln's  own 
handwriting. 

Following  are  the  first  pages  of  this  book,  and 
it  will  be  noted  that  his  first  "clippings"  are  from 
his  speech  at  Peoria,  Tuesday,  October  16th, 
1854. 

Can  anything  more  conclusive  be  produced  to 
show  that  the  first  step,  which  resulted  in  his 
reaching  the  Presidency,  was  taken  at  Peoria,  Oc- 
tober 16th,  1854?     Here  are  the  extracts: 

"The  following  extracts  are  taken  from  various 
speeches  of  mine  delivered  at  various  times  and 
7  97 


c*.-L      ftf*.    l~*CTL^r       ,<U^^        ^L^^4.     J^^C^ 


PHOTOGRAPH    COPY    OF    LINCOLN'S    HANDWRITING 
REFERRING  TO  HIS  PEORIA  ADDRESS 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


places,  and  I  believe  they  contain  all  I  have  ever 
said  about  'Negro  Equality/     The  first  three  are 
from  my  answer  to  Judge  Douglas,  October  16, 
1854,  at  Peoria." 
First  Clipping: 

'This  is  the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compro- 
mise. The  foregoing  history  may  not  be  precisely 
accurate  in  every  particular;  but  I  am  sure  it  is 
sufficiently  so,  for  all  the  uses  I  shall  attempt  to 
make  of  it,  and  in  it  we  have  before  us  the  chief 
material  enabling  us  to  correctly  judge  whether 
the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise  is  right  or 
wrong. 

"I  think,  and  shall  try  to  show,  that  it  is  wrong; 
wrong  in  its  direct  effect,  letting  slavery  into  Kan- 
sas and  Nebraska — and  wrong  in  its  prospective 
principle,  allowing  it  to  spread  to  every  other  part 
of  the  wide  world,  where  men  can  be  found  in- 
clined to  take  it. 

"This  declared  indifference,  but  as  I  must  think, 
covert  real  zeal  for  the  spread  of  slavery,  I  cannot 
but  hate.  I  hate  it  because  of  the  monstrous  injus- 
tice of  slavery  itself.  I  hate  it  because  it  deprives 
our  republican  example  of  its  just  influence  in  the 
world — enables  the  enemies  of  free  institutions,, 
with  plausibility,  to  taunt  us  as  hypocrites — 
causes  the  real  friends  of  freedom  to  doubt  our 

99 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


sincerity,  and  especially  because  it  forces  so  many 
really  good  men  amongst  ourselves  into  an  open 
war  with  the  very  fundamental  principles  of  civil 
liberty — criticizing  the  Declaration  of  Indepen- 
dence, and  insisting  that  there  is  no  right  principle 
of  action  but  self-interest. 

"Before  proceeding,  let  me  say  I  think  I  have  no 
prejudice  against  the  Southern  people.  They  are 
just  what  we  would  be  in  their  situation.  If 
slavery  did  not  now  exist  among  them,  they 
would  not  introduce  it.  If  it  did  now  exist 
among  us,  we  should  not  instantly  give  it  up. 
This  I  believe  of  the  masses  North  and  South. 
Doubtless  there  are  individuals  on  both  sides  who 
would  not  hold  slaves  under  any  circumstances; 
and  others  who  would  gladly  introduce  slavery 
anew,  if  it  were  out  of  existence.  We  know  that 
some  Southern  men  do  free  their  slaves,  go  North, 
and  become  tip- top  abolitionists;  while  some 
Northern  ones  go  South,  and  be — "  (This  clip- 
ping ends  here.) 

Second  Clipping: 

"When  Southern  people  tell  us  they  are  no  more 
responsible  for  the  origin  of  slavery  than  we,  I 
acknowledge  the  fact.  When  it  is  said  that  the 
institution  exists,  and  that  it  is  very  difficult  to 
get  rid  of  it  in  any  satisfactory  way,  I  can  under- 

100 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


stand  and  appreciate  the  saying.  I  surely  will  not 
blame  them  for  not  doing  what  I  should  not  know 
how  to  do  myself.  If  all  earthly  power  were 
given  me,  I  should  not  know  what  to  do,  as  to 
the  existing  institution.  My  first  impulse  would 
be  to  free  all  the  slaves,  and  send  them  to  Liberia — 
to  their  own  native  land.  But  a  moment's  reflec- 
tion would  convince  me  that,  whatever  of  high 
hope  (as  I  think  there  is)  there  may  be  in  this,  in 
the  long  run,  its  sudden  execution  is  impossible. 
If  they  were  all  landed  there  in  a  day,  they  would 
all  perish  in  the  next  ten  days;  and  there  are  not 
surplus  shipping  and  surplus  money  enough  in 
the  world  to  carry  them  there  in  many  times  ten 
days.  What  then?  Free  them  all,  and  keep  them 
among  us  as  underlings?  Is  it  quite  certain  that 
this  betters  their  condition?  I  think  I  would  not 
hold  one  in  slavery,  at  any  rate;  yet  the  point  is 
not  clear  enough  to  me  to  denounce  people  upon. 
What  next? — Free  them,  and  make  them  politi- 
cally and  socially  our  equals?  My  own  feelings 
will  not  admit  of  this;  and  if  mine  would,  we 
would  know  that  those  of  the  great  mass  of  white 
people  will  not.  Whether  this  feeling  accords  with 
justice  and  sound  judgment  is  not  the  sole  ques- 
tion, if  indeed  it  is  any  part  of  it.  A  universal 
feeling,   whether  well  or  ill-founded,  can  not  be 

101 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


safely  disregarded.  We  can  not,  then,  make  them 
equals.  It  does  seem  to  me  that  systems  of  grad- 
ual emancipation  might  be  adopted;  but  for  their 
tardiness  in  this,  I  will  not  undertake  to  judge  our 
brethren  of  the  south. 

"When  they  remind  us  of  their  constitutional 
rights,  I  acknowledge  them,  not  grudgingly,  but 
fully,  and  fairly;  and  I  would  give  them  any  legis 
lation  for  the  reclaiming  of  their  fugitives,  which 
should  not,  in  its  stringency,  be  more  likely  to 
carry  a  free  man  into  slavery  than  our  ordinary 
criminal  laws  are  to  hang  an  innocent  one. 

"But  all  this,  to  my  judgment,  furnishes  no 
more  excuse  for  permitting  slavery  to  go  into  our 
own  free  territory  than  it  would  for  reviving  the 
African  slave-trade  by  law.  The  law  which  for- 
bids the  bringing  of  slaves  from  Africa,  and  that 
which  has  so  long  forbid  the  taking  them  to  Ne- 
braska, can  hardly  be  distinguished  on  any  moral 
principle;  and  the  repeal  of  the  former  could  find 
quite  as  plausible  excuses  as  that  of  the  latter. 

"Judge  Douglas,  frequently,  with  bitter  irony 
and  sarcasm,  paraphrases  our  argument  by  saying, 
'The  white  people  of  Nebraska  are  good  enough 
to  govern  themselves,  but  they  are  not  good 
enough  to  govern  a  few  miserable  negroes!' 

102 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


"Well,  I  doubt  not  that  the  people  of  Nebraska 
are,  and  will  continue  to  be,  as  good  as  the  average 
of  people  elsewhere.  I  do  not  say  the  contrary. 
What  I  do  say  is,  that  no  man  is  good  enough  to 
govern  another  man  without  that  other's  consent. 
I  say  this  is  the  leading  principle — the  sheet  anchor 
of  American  republicanism.  Our  Declaration  of 
Independence  says: 

'We  hold  these  truths  to  be  self-evident;  that 
all  men  are  created  equal;  that  they  are  endowed 
by  their  Creator  with  certain  inalienable  rights; 
that  among  these  are  life,  liberty  and  the  pursuit 
of  happiness.  That  to  secure  these  rights,  govern- 
ments are  instituted  among  men,  DERIVING  THEIR 
JUST  POWERS  FROM  THE  CONSENT  OF  THE  GOV- 
ERNED.' 

"I  have  quoted  so  much  at  this  time  merely  to 
show  that,  according  to  our  ancient  faith,  the  just 
powers  of  governments  are  derived  from  the  con- 
sent of  the  governed.  Now  the  relation  of  masters 
and  slaves  is,  pro  tanto,  a  total  violation  of 
this  principle.  The  master  not  only  governs  the 
slave  without  his  consent;  but  he  governs  him  by 
a  set  of  rules  altogether  different  from  those  which 
he  prescribes  for  himself.  Allow  all  the  governed 
an  equal  voice  in  the  government,  and  that,  and 
that  only,  is  self-government." 

103 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


''Let  it  not  be  said  I  am  contending  for  the 
establishment  of  political  and  social  equality  be- 
tween the  whites  and  blacks.  I  have  already  said 
the  contrary.  I  am  not  now  combating  the  argu- 
ment of  necessity,  arising  from  the  fact  that  the 
blacks  are  already  amongst  us;  but  I  am  combat- 
ing what  is  set  up  as  moral  argument  for  allowing 
them  to  be  taken  where  they  have  never  yet  been — 
arguing  against  the  extension  of  a  bad  thing, 
which,  where  it  already  exists,  we  must  of  necessity 
manage  as  we  best  can." 

Third  clipping: 

'In  the  course  of  his  reply,  Senator  Douglas  re- 
marked, in  substance,  that  he  had  always  consid- 
ered this  government  was  made  for  the  white  peo- 
ple and  not  for  the  negroes.  Why,  in  point  of  mere 
fact,  I  think  so  too.  But  in  this  remark  of  the 
Judge,  there  is  a  significance,  which  I  think  is  the 
key  to  the  great  mistake  (if  there  is  any  such 
mistake)  which  he  has  made  in  this  Nebraska 
measure.  It  shows  that  the  Judge  has  no  very 
vivid  impression  that  the  negro  is  a  human;  and 
consequently  has  no  idea  that  there  can  be  any 
moral  question  in  legislating  about  him.  In  his 
view,  the  question  of  whether  a  new  country  shall 
be  slave  or  free  is  a  matter  of  as  utter  indifference 
as  it  is  whether  his  neighbor  shall  plant  his  farm 

104 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


with  tobacco,  or  stock  it  with  horned  cattle.  Now, 
whether  this  view  is  right  or  wrong,  it  is  very  cer- 
tain that  the  great  mass  of  mankind  take  a  totally 
different  view.  They  consider  slavery  a  great 
moral  wrong;  and  their  feeling  against  it  is  not 
evanescent,  but  eternal.  It  lies  at  the  very  founda- 
tion of  their  sense  of  justice;  and  it  cannot  be 
trifled  with.  It  is  a  great  and  durable  element  of 
popular  action  and,  I  think,  no  statesman  can 
safely  disregard  it." 


105 


PHOTOGRAPH    COPY   OF    LETTER   WRITTEN    BY   ABRAHAM 

LINCOLN  TO  HON.  J.  N.  BROWN  REFERRING  TO 

HIS  ADDRESS  IN  PEORIA,  ILL.,  ON 

OCTOBER    16,    1854 


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Chapter  Ten 

It  occurs  to  me,  as  it  probably  appears  to  the 
reader,  that  these  sketches  are  a  little  "jerky." 

They  are  like  Billy  Stoughton's  typewriter. 
Billy  was  a  clerk  in  the  office  of  Captain  L.  L. 
Troy,  Superintendent  Railway  Mail  Service  at 
Chicago.  He  was  an  expert  typewriter  who  could 
talk  and  follow  copy  at  the  same  time.  He  also 
stammered  badly.  His  machine  was  of  the  old- 
fashioned  kind,  and  the  writing  was  invisible.  I 
was  talking  to  him  one  day  when  he  stopped  and 
threw  open  the  carriage  to  examine  the  writing. 
The  keys  had  caught  and  he  found  nothing  but  a 
lot  of  meaningless  characters.  His  face  clouded 
with  a  look  of  blank  astonishment,  then  he  broke 
into  a  sunny  smile.  Looking  up  at  me  he  said: 
"Bry-Bryner — bes-best  typewriter  in  America — 
writes  ex-ex-exactly  like  I-I-I  talk." 

I  may  go  "far  afield"  to  give  a  personal  touch 
to  these  pages,  but  the  fragrance  of  memory's 
flowered  fields  gives  them  a  charm  to  me  of  which 
I  hope  the  reader  may  catch  a  faint  breath. 

Colonel  Clark  E.  Carr  of  Galesburg  was  our 
Minister  to  Denmark.  I  knew  him  well  during 
the  last  years  of  his  life,  and  he  told  me  many 
things  about  Lincoln.     He  was  with  him  upon  the 

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ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

train  which  took  Mr.  Lincoln  to  Gettysburg,  and 
he  said  that  Lincoln  whilst  en  route  made  pencil 
notes  upon  the  back  of  an  envelope.  It  was  this 
probably  that  gave  rise  to  the  story  that  his  ad- 
dress was  without  previous  preparation.  It  is  far 
more  likely  that  he  only  jotted  down  the  headings 
of  his  speech  to  aid  his  memory  of  a  carefully  pre- 
pared address.  At  the  Peoria  meeting  the  plat- 
form was  erected  upon  the  south  side  of  the  old 
Court  House  and  entrance  thereto  was  through 
a  window  of  the  office  of  the  Circuit  Clerk.  I  have 
a  vivid  recollection  of  Judge  Douglas*  appearance 
as  he  stepped  upon  the  platform.  Colonel  Carr  has 
thus  described  him,  which  coincides  perfectly  with 
the  picture  I  have  in  mind:  "He  was  dressed  in 
a  black  broadcloth  suit  of  latest  Washington  cut; 
with  immaculate  linen — his  trim  figure,  though 
small,  seemed  perfect,  as  his  lustrous  eyes  looked 
out  from  under  his  massive  forehead,  surrounded 
by  heavy  brown  locks.  Bold,  defiant,  confident, 
he  seemed  the  impersonation  of  strength  and 
power." 

I  doubt  if  any  one  man  aside  from  Lincoln  con- 
tributed so  much  to  the  salvation  of  the  Union  as 
Judge  Douglas.  He  virtually  broke  with  his  party 
and  carried  thousands  of  his  followers  with  him. 
At  the  inauguration  of  Lincoln,  he  sat  upon  the 

116 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

platform  and  held  Mr.  Lincoln's  hat,  thus  making 
public  demonstration  of  his  support  to  the  incom- 
ing administration.  Exactly  three  months  later  he 
passed  away  in  the  city  of  Chicago,  an  irreparable 
loss  to  the  Union  cause.  Edward  Bonham  was 
Lieutenant  Colonel  of  the  regiment  in  which  I 
served  in  the  Civil  War.  I  was  acquainted  with  his 
father,  Jeriah  Bonham,  who  wrote  "Fifty  Years' 
Recollections."  From  this  volume,  I  make  the  fol- 
lowing extract,  as  of  interest  in  connection  with 
Lincoln  and  Peoria: 

"There  is  not  much  in  the  early  life  of  Abra- 
ham Lincoln  to  stir  the  imagination  of  the  reader. 
There  is  nothing  to  rouse  up  wonderful  enthu- 
siasm in  the  humble  process  of  his  education;  his 
experiences  of  hardships;  his  early  struggles  with 
the  rough  forces  of  nature  among  which  he  was 
born.  Indeed,  we  would  be  trespassing  on  the 
domain  of  history  written  by  others  if  we  at- 
tempted to  give  a  brief  history  of  his  early  life, 
which  has  been  so  well  and  ably  written  by  others, 
among  them  the  campaign  biographies  of  Scripps, 
Raymond  and  Barrett,  the  writings  of  Ward  H. 
Lamon,  Esq.,  and  Hon.  Isaac  N.  Arnold;  also, 
'Life  of  Abraham  Lincoln,'  by  J.  G.  Holland; 
Carpenter's   'Reminiscences,'   and  later,   the   'Life 

117 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


and  Public  Services  of  Abraham  Lincoln/  by  J. 
Carroll  Power.  To  the  excellence  of  all  these  we 
bear  cheerful  testimony. 

"Our  'Recollections'  of  Mr.  Lincoln  must  be 
confined,  in  the  main,  to  our  personal  acquaintance 
with  him,  which  commenced  at  the  mass  Whig 
State  Convention,  held  at  Peoria,  in  June,  1844. 
Mr.  Lincoln  was  among  the  'big  guns'  in  the 
grand  array  of  eminent  statesmen  and  eloquent 
speakers  present  on  that  occasion;  a  galaxy  of 
bright  particular  stars  in  the  constellation  of  talent 
and  patriotism,  numbering  among  them  Gen. 
John  J.  Hardin,  who  afterwards  fell  at  Buena 
Vista,  Colonel  Edward  D.  Baker,  who  gave  up  his 
life  at  Ball's  Bluff  during  the  Rebellion,  John  T. 
Stuart,  Stephen  T.  Logan,  Jesse  K.  Dubois,  U.  F. 
Linder,  O.  H.  Browning,  Joseph  Gillespie,  Archie 
Williams,  Jackson  Grimshaw,  T.  Lisle  Smith, 
Martin  P.  Sweet,  Ben.  Bond,  Richard  Yates,  T. 
Lyle  Dickey,  Lincoln  B.  Knowlton,  D.  W.  Wood- 
son, Wm.  H.  Henderson,  and  a  host  of  others  who 
came  up  to  this  grand  council  in  the  interests  of 
Clay  and  Frelinghuysen,  the  Whig  standard  bear- 
ers in  that  memorable  campaign.  In  addition  to 
these  there  were  present  Caleb  B.  Smith,  Henry  S. 
Lane,  and  several  other  Indiana  orators,  then  and 
since  known  to  fame,   and  from  Missouri  there 

118 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


were    the    renowned    and    eloquent    Dr.    E.    C 
McDowell,  Don  Morrison,  and  many  others. 

"Among  all  this  brilliant  array  called  to  ad- 
dress the  convention  during  the  two  days'  sessions, 
none  attracted  greater  and  more  marked  attention 
than  Mr.  Lincoln.  Dr.  McDowell,  Caleb  B. 
Smith,  Edward  D.  Baker  and  Gen.  Hardin  made 
their  speeches  before  him.  All  made  grand  speeches 
and  were  loudly  applauded.  Gen.  Hardin  was 
then  the  member  of  Congress  from  this  district, 
and  Col.  Baker  the  candidate  for  the  succession. 

"It  is  among  the  brightest  recollections  of  that 
day  when  Mr.  Lincoln  took  the  stand.  He  did 
not,  on  rising,  show  his  full  height,  stood  rather 
in  a  stooping  posture,  his  long-tailed  coat  hanging 
loosely  round  his  body,  descending  round  and 
over  an  ill-fitting  pair  of  pantaloons  that  covered 
his  not  very  symmetrical  legs.  He  commenced  his 
speech  in  a  rather  diffident  manner,  even  seemed  for 
a  while  at  a  loss  for  words,  his  voice  was  irregular, 
a  little  tremulous,  as  at  first  he  began  his  argument 
by  laying  down  his  propositions.  As  he  proceeded 
he  seemed  to  gain  more  confidence,  his  body 
straightened  up,  his  countenance  brightened,  his 
language  became  free  and  animated,  as,  during  this 
time  he  had  illustrated  his  argument  by  two  or 
three  well-told  stories,  that  drew  the  attention  of 

119 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,      ILLINOIS 


the  thousands  of  his  audience  to  every  word  he  ut- 
tered. Then  he  became  eloquent,  carrying  the 
swaying  crowd  at  his  will,  who,  at  every  point  he 
made  in  his  forcible  argument,  were  tumultuous 
in  their  applause.  His  subject  was  the  exposition 
of  the  protective  system — the  tariff — the  method 
of  raising  a  revenue  by  a  system  of  duties  levied  on 
foreign  importations,  which  at  the  same  time 
would  afford  protection  to  American  industries. 
Mr.  Lincoln  spoke  a  little  over  an  hour.  His  argu- 
ments were  unanswerable.  This  speech  raised  him 
to  the  proudest  height  to  which  he  had  ever  before 
attained.  He  had  greatly  strengthened  the  Whig 
organization  in  the  State  and  established  his  repu- 
tation as  one  of  the  most  powerful  political  debat- 
ers in  the  country. 

"This  speech  showed  to  the  people  that  he  had 
thoroughly  mastered  all  the  great  questions  of  the 
day,  and  brought  to  their  discussion  closeness  and 
soundness  of  logic,  with  numerous  facts,  clinched 
by  the  most  elaborate  and  powerful  arguments. 
This  conclusion,  it  is  among  my  recollections,  we 
arrived  at  after  enjoying  this  grand  field  day,  hear- 
ing the  most  gifted  of  Illinois  statesmen  discuss  all 
the  great  questions  of  the  day,  and  we  left  with 
the  thousands  of  others,  for  their  homes,  with  the 
firm  belief  and  conviction  that  Abraham  Lincoln 

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ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,      ILLINOIS 


was  the  foremost  statesman  in  Illinois,  and  would, 
at  that  time,  have  been  willing  to  vote  for  him  for 
any  position  from  Congressman  to  President  of 
the  United  States,  both  of  which  privileges  were 
enjoyed  in  after  years." 


21 


Chapter  Eleven 

From  early  childhood,  when  in  the  old  Court 
House  in  Peoria  I  used  to  sit  upon  his  knee  and 
he  bought  me  big  red  apples  from  old  man  Cut- 
ler, Colonel  Robert  G.  Ingersoll,  America's  fore- 
most orator,  was  throughout  life  my  friend.  I 
recall  standing  over  the  furnace  register,  shaking 
the  black  ostrich  plume,  to  put  it  in  curl,  which 
he  wore  upon  his  hat  when  he  marched  away  as 
Colonel  of  the  11th  Illinois  Cavalry.  As  this  is 
a  Peoria  story  of  Lincoln,  I  shall  here  insert  his 
splendid  tribute  to  the  martyred  President. 

"ABRAHAM  LINCOLN— strange  mingling 
of  mirth  and  tears,  of  the  tragic  and  grotesque,  of 
cap  and  crown,  of  Socrates  and  Democritus,  of 
Aesop  and  Marcus  Aurelius,  of  all  that  is  gentle 
and  just,  humorous  and  honest,  merciful,  wise, 
laughable,  lovable  and  divine,  and  all  consecrated 
to  the  use  of  man;  while  through  all,  and  over 
all,  were  an  overwhelming  sense  of  obligation,  of 
chivalric  loyalty  to  truth,  and  upon  all,  the  shadow 
of  the  tragic  end. 

"Nearly  all  the  great  historic  characters  are  im- 
possible monsters,  disproportioned  by  flattery,  or 
by  calumny  deformed.  We  know  nothing  of 
their  peculiarities,  or  nothing  but  their  peculiar- 

123 


COLONEL  ROBERT  G.  INGERSOLL,  OE  PEORIA 

As  he  appeared  in  1861   when  he  departed  from  Peoria  as 

Colonel  of  the   11th  Illinois  Cavalry 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,      ILLINOIS 


ities.     About  these  oaks  there  clings  none  of  the 
earth  of  humanity. 

"Washington  is  now  only  a  steel  engraving. 
About  the  real  man  who  lived  and  loved  and 
hated  and  schemed,  we  know  but  little.  The 
glass  through  which  we  look  at  him  is  of  such 
high  magnifying  power  that  the  features  are  ex- 
ceedingly indistinct. 

"Hundreds  of  people  are  now  engaged  in 
smoothing  out  the  lines  of  Lincoln's  face — forc- 
ing all  features  to  the  common  mould — so  that 
he  may  be  known,  not  as  he  really  was,  but,  ac- 
cording to  their  poor  standard,  as  he  should  have 
been. 

"Lincoln  was  not  a  type.  He  stands  alone — 
no  ancestors,  no  fellows,  and  no  successors. 

"He  had  the  advantage  of  living  in  a  new 
country,  of  social  equality,  of  personal  freedom, 
of  seeing  in  the  horizon  of  his  future  the  perpetual 
star  of  hope.  He  preserved  his  individuality  and 
his  self-respect.  He  knew  and  mingled  with  men 
of  every  kind;  and,  after  all,  men  are  the  best 
books.  He  became  acquainted  with  the  ambi- 
tions and  hopes  of  the  heart,  the  means  used  to 
accomplish  ends,  the  springs  of  action  and  the 
seeds  of  thought.     He  was  familiar  with  nature. 

125 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


with  actual  things,  with  common  facts.  He 
loved  and  appreciated  the  poem  of  the  year,  the 
drama  of  the  seasons. 

"In  a  new  country  a  man  must  possess  at  least 
three  virtues — honesty,  courage  and  generosity. 
In  cultivated  society,  cultivation  is  often  more 
important  than  soil.  A  well  executed  counter- 
feit passes  more  readily  than  a  blurred  genuine. 
It  is  necessary  only  to  observe  the  unwritten  laws 
of  society — to  be  honest  enough  to  keep  out  of 
prison,  and  generous  enough  to  subscribe  in  pub- 
lic— where  the  subscription  can  be  defended  as 
an  investment. 

"In  a  new  country,  character  is  essential;  in  the 
old,  reputation  is  sufficient.  In  the  new,  they 
find  what  a  man  really  is;  in  the  old,  he  generally 
passes  for  what  he  resembles.  People  separated 
only  by  distance  are  much  nearer  together  than 
those  divided  by  the  walls  of  caste. 

"It  is  no  advantage  to  live  in  a  great  city,  where 
poverty  degrades  and  failure  brings  despair.  The 
fields  are  lovelier  than  paved  streets,  and  the  great 
forests  than  walls  of  brick.  Oaks  and  elms  are 
more  poetic  than  steeples  and  chimneys. 

"In  the  country  is  the  idea  of  home.  There 
you  see  the  rising  and  setting  sun;  you  become  ac- 

126 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


quainted  with  the  stars  and  clouds.  The  constel- 
lations are  your  friends.  You  hear  the  rain  on  the 
roof  and  listen  to  the  rhythmic  sighing  of  the 
winds.  You  are  thrilled  by  the  resurrection  called 
Spring,  touched  and  saddened  by  Autumn — the 
grace  and  poetry  of  death.  Every  field  is  a  pic- 
ture, a  landscape;  every  landscape  a  poem;  every 
flower  a  tender  thought,  and  every  forest  a  fairy- 
land. In  the  country  you  preserve  your  iden- 
tity— your  personality.  There  you  are  an  aggre- 
gation of  atoms,  but  in  the  city  you  are  only  an 
atom  of  an  aggregation. 

"In  the  country  you  keep  your  cheek  close  to 
the  breast  of  Nature.  You  are  calmed  and  en- 
nobled by  the  space,  the  amplitude  and  scope  of 
earth  and  sky — by  the  constancy  of  the  stars. 

"Lincoln  never  finished  his  education.  To  the 
night  of  his  death  he  was  a  pupil,  a  learner,  an  in- 
quirer, a  seeker  after  knowledge.  You  have  no 
idea  how  many  men  are  spoiled  by  what  is  called 
education.  For  the  most  part,  colleges  are  places 
where  pebbles  are  polished  and  diamonds  are 
dimmed.  If  Shakespeare  had  graduated  at  Oxford, 
he  might  have  been  a  quibbling  attorney  or  a 
hypocritical  parson. 

"Lincoln  was  a  great  lawyer.     There  is  noth- 

127 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


ing  shrewder  in  this  world  than  intelligent  hon- 
esty.    Perfect  candor  is  sword  and  shield. 

"He  understood  the  nature  of  man.  As  a  law- 
yer he  endeavored  to  get  at  the  truth,  at  the  very 
heart  of  a  case.  He  was  not  willing  even  to  de- 
ceive himself.  No  matter  what  his  interest  said, 
what  his  passion  demanded,  he  was  great  enough 
to  find  the  truth  and  strong  enough  to  pronounce 
judgment  against  his  own  desires. 

"Lincoln  was  a  many-sided  man,  acquainted 
with  smiles  and  tears,  complex  in  brain,  single  in 
heart,  direct  as  light;  and  his  words,  candid  as 
mirrors,  gave  the  perfect  image  of  his  thought. 
He  was  never  afraid  to  ask — never  too  dignified 
to  admit  that  he  did  not  know.  No  man  had 
keener  wit  or  kinder  humor. 

"It  may  be  that  humor  is  the  pilot  of  reason, 
People  without  humor  drift  unconsciously  into 
absurdity.  Humor  sees  the  other  side — stands  in 
the  mind  like  a  spectator,  a  good-natured  critic, 
and  gives  its  opinion  before  judgment  is  reached. 
Humor  goes  with  good  nature,  and  good  nature 
is  the  climate  of  reason.  In  anger,  reason  abdi- 
cates and  malice  extinguishes  the  torch.  Such 
was  the  humor  of  Lincoln  that  he  could  tell  even 
unpleasant  truths  as  charmingly  as  most  men  can 
tell  the  things  we  wish  to  hear. 

128 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


"He  was  not  solemn.  Solemnity  is  a  mask 
worn  by  ignorance  and  hypocrisy — it  is  the  pre- 
face, prologue,  and  index  to  the  cunning  or  the 
stupid. 

"He  was  natural  in  his  life  and  thought — 
master  of  the  story-teller's  art,  in  illustration  apt, 
in  application  perfect,  liberal  in  speech,  shocking 
Pharisees  and  prudes,  using  any  word  that  wit 
could  disinfect. 

"He  was  a  logician.  His  logic  shed  light.  In 
its  presence  the  obscure  became  luminous,  and  the 
most  complex  and  intricate  political  and  meta- 
physical knots  seemed  to  untie  themselves.  Logic 
is  the  necessary  product  of  intelligence  and  sincer- 
ity. It  cannot  be  learned.  It  is  the  child  of  a 
clear  head  and  a  good  heart. 

"Lincoln  was  candid,  and  with  candor  often 
deceived  the  deceitful.  He  had  intellect  without 
arrogance,  genius  without  pride,  and  religion 
without  cant — that  is  to  say,  without  bigotry 
and  without  deceit. 

"He  was  an  orator — clear,  sincere,  natural.  He 
did  not  pretend.  He  did  not  say  what  he  thought 
others  thought,  but  what  he  thought. 

"If  you  wish  to  be  sublime  you  must  be  nat- 
ural— you  must  keep  close  to  the  grass.  You 
9  129 


ABRAHAM,     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

must  sit  by  the  fireside  of  the  heart;  above  the 
clouds  it  is  too  cold.  You  must  be  simple  in  your 
speech;  too  much  polish  suggests  insincerity. 

"The  great  orator  idealizes  the  real,  trans- 
figures the  common,  makes  even  the  inanimate 
throb  and  thrill,  fills  the  gallery  of  the  imagina- 
tion with  statues  and  pictures  perfect  in  form  and 
color,  brings  to  light  the  gold  hoarded  by  memory 
the  miser,  shows  the  glittering  coin  to  the  spend- 
thrift hope,  enriches  the  brain,  ennobles  the  heart, 
and  quickens  the  conscience.  Between  his  lips 
words  bud  and  blossom. 

"If  you  wish  to  know  the  difference  between 
an  orator  and  an  elocutionist — between  what  is 
felt  and  what  is  said — beween  what  the  heart  and 
brain  can  do  together  and  what  the  brain  can  do 
alone — read  Lincoln's  wondrous  speech  at  Get- 
tysburg, and  then  the  oration  of  Edward  Everett. 

"The  speech  of  Lincoln  will  never  be  forgot- 
ten. It  will  live  until  languages  are  dead  and 
lips  are  dust.  The  oration  of  Everett  will  never 
be  read. 

"The  elocutionists  believe  in  the  virtue  of 
voice,  the  sublimity  of  syntax,  the  majesty  of  long 
sentences,  and  the  genius  of  gesture. 

"The  orator  loves  the  real,  the  simple,  the  nat- 

130 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


ural.  He  places  the  thought  above  all.  He 
knows  that  the  greatest  ideas  should  be  expressed 
in  the  shortest  words — that  the  greatest  statues 
need  the  least  drapery. 

"Lincoln  was  an  immense  personality — firm 
but  not  obstinate.  Obstinacy  is  egotism — firm- 
ness, heroism.  He  influenced  others  without  effort, 
unconsciously;  and  they  submitted  to  him  as  men 
submit  to  nature — unconsciously.  He  was  severe 
with  himself,  and  for  that  reason  lenient  with 
others. 

"He  appeared  to  apologize  for  being  kinder 
than  his  fellows. 

"He  did  merciful  things  as  stealthily  as  others 
committed  crimes. 

"Almost  ashamed  of  tenderness,  he  said  and 
did  the  noblest  words  and  deeds  with  the  charm- 
ing confusion,  that  awkwardness  that  is  the  per- 
fect grace  of  modesty. 

"As  a  noble  man,  wishing  to  pay  a  small  debt 
to  a  poor  neighbor,  reluctantly  offers  a  hundred- 
dollar  bill  and  asks  for  change,  fearing  that  he 
may  be  suspected  either  of  making  a  display  of 
wealth  or  a  pretense  of  payment,  so  Lincoln  hesi- 
tated to  show  his  wealth  of  goodness,  even  to  the 
best  he  knew. 

131 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

"A  great  man  stooping,  not  wishing  to  make 
his  fellows  feel  that  they  were  small  or  mean. 

"By  his  candor,  by  his  kindness,  by  his  perfect 
freedom  from  restraint,  by  saying  what  he 
thought,  and  saying  it  absolutely  in  his  own  way, 
he  made  it  not  only  possible,  but  popular,  to  be 
natural.  He  was  the  enemy  of  mock  solemnity, 
of  the  stupidly  respectable,  of  the  cold  and  formal. 

"He  wore  no  official  robes  either  on  his  body 
or  his  soul.  He  never  pretended  to  be  more  or 
less,  or  other,  or  different,  from  what  he  really 
was. 

"He  had  the  unconscious  naturalness  of  Na- 
ture's self. 

"He  built  upon  the  rock.  The  foundation 
was  secure  and  broad.  The  structure  was  a  pyra- 
mid, narrowing  as  it  rose.  Through  days  and 
nights  of  sorrow,  through  years  of  grief  and  pain, 
with  unswerving  purpose,  'with  malice  towards 
none,  with  charity  for  all,'  with  infinite  patience, 
with  unclouded  vision,  he  hoped  and  toiled. 
Stone  after  stone  was  laid  until  at  last  the  Procla- 
mation found  its  place.  On  that  the  Goddess 
stands. 

"He  knew  others,  because  perfectly  acquainted 
with  himself.      He  cared  nothing  for  place,  but 

132 


ABRAHAM,     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

everything  for  principle;  little  for  money,  but 
everything  for  independence.  Where  no  principle 
was  involved,  easily  swayed — willing  to  go  slow- 
ly, if  in  the  right  direction — sometimes  willing 
to  stop;  but  he  would  not  go  back,  and  he  would 
not  go  wrong. 

"He  was  willing  to  wait.  He  knew  that  the 
event  was  not  waiting,  and  that  fate  was  not  the 
fool  of  chance.  He  knew  that  slavery  had  de- 
fenders, but  no  defense,  and  that  they  who  attack 
the  right  must  wound  themselves. 

"He  was  neither  tyrant  nor  slave.  He  neither 
knelt  nor  scorned. 

"With  him,  men  were  neither  great  nor  small 
— they  were  right  or  wrong. 

"Through  manners,  clothes,  titles,  rags  and 
race  he  saw  the  real — that  which  is.  Beyond 
accident,  policy,  compromise  and  war  he  saw  the 
end. 

"He  was  patient  as  Destiny;  whose  undeci- 
pherable hieroglyphs  were  so  deeply  graven  on 
his  sad  and  tragic  face. 

"Nothing  discloses  real  character  like  the  use 
of  power.  It  is  easy  for  the  weak  to  be  gentle. 
Most  people  can  bear  adversity.  But  if  you  wish 
to  know  what  a  man  really  is,  give  him  power. 

133 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


This  is  the  supreme  test.  It  is  the  glory  of  Lin- 
coln that,  having  almost  absolute  power,  he  never 
abused  it,  except  on  the  side  of  mercy. 

' 'Wealth  could  not  purchase,  power  could  not 
awe,  this  divine,  this  loving  man. 

"He  knew  no  fear  except  the  fear  of  doing 
wrong.  Hating  slavery,  pitying  the  master — 
seeking  to  conquer,  not  persons,  but  prejudices — 
he  was  the  embodiment  of  the  self-denial,  the 
courage,  the  hope  and  the  nobility  of  a  Nation. 

"He  spoke  not  to  inflame,  not  to  upbraid,  but 
to  convince. 

"He  raised  his  hands,  not  to  strike,  but  in  bene- 
diction. 

"He  longed  to  pardon. 

"He  loved  to  see  the  pearls  of  joy  on  the  cheeks 
of  a  wife  whose  husband  he  had  rescued  from 
death. 

"Lincoln  was  the  grandest  figure  of  the  fiercest 
civil  war.  He  is  the  gentlest  memory  of  our 
world." 

— Published  by  permission  of  C.  P.  Farrell,  of  New  York,  pub- 
lisher of  "Dresden  Edition"  of  Ingersoll's  Complete  Works. 


134 


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HERE  ENDS  THE 
FIRST   EDITION 


FOLLOWING  IS  ADDED 

MATTER    FOR    THE 

SECOND  EDITION 


Abntfjam  Smtrnltt 


in 


Pyuria,  JUtnntH 


Srruttii  tnlurgrh  IMtimi.  (Ortuhrr  10,  1926 


"J  nam  ani  Jitarft  Utnroln 
an&  Uouglaa  wltett  a  bog" 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


Abraham  ICtnrnln 

lij  C&wrgr  iFttrij 

As  years  merge  into  years,  still  grows  apace 
The  strength,  the  majesty  of  that  gaunt  face; 
The  greatness  of  that  soul,  that  master  mind; 
Still  grows  that  heart  more  wonderfully  kind. 
As  some  tall  mountain  that  has  slipped  away 
Behind  us  on  the  trail  through  all  the  day, 
And  yet  at  night,  full  many  a  long  mile  past, 
Still  looms  behind,  more  glorious,  more  vast. 

George  Fitch,  poet  and  humorist,  achieved  fame  while  a  writer 
upon  the  Peoria  Transcript.  This  tribute  from  his  pen  is  full  of  feeling 
and  understanding  of  America's  simplest  yet  greatest  character. 


139 


ABRAHAM  LINCOLN 

Original    ambrotypc      in      possession      of 

Chas.  B.  Smith,  city  editor,  Peoria  Star 


ABRAHAM,     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


ABRAHAM   LINCOLN 

This  picture,  now  published  for  the  first  time, 
is  from  an  ambrotype  made  in  Peoria  in  the  earlier 
fifties,  it  is  believed,  by  H.  H.  Cole,  a  pioneer  of 
the  art  who  died  in  1925  at  the  age  of  94.  It  was 
given  by  Mr.  Lincoln  to  the  late  Richard  D.  Smith, 
of  Pekin,  who  at  that  time  conducted  a  store  in 
Washington,  111.  The  original,  in  its  black  case 
2^  x3  inches  in  size,  as  clear  and  clean-cut  as 
when  first  made,  is  in  the  possession  of  his  son, 
Chas.  B.  Smith,  city  editor  of  the  Peoria  Star, 
who  has  been  offered  as  high  as  $1,000.00  for  it. 
"Dick"  Smith's  store  in  Washington  was  the  ren- 
dezvous for  such  "giants  of  those  days"  as  Lin- 
coln, who  practiced  law  in  Tazewell  and  Wood- 
ford counties;  Richard  Yates,  the  old  War  Gover- 
nor; Robert  G.  Ingersoll,  "Roaring  Dick"  Ogles- 
by,  "Long  John"  Wentworth,  "Long"  and  Sam 
Jones;  John  A.  Logan,  "the  Black  War  Eagle"; 
and  others  whose  names  are  woven  in  the  history 
of  stormy  days  that  came  in  '  6 1. 


41 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

JUDGE  DOUGLAS— HIS  SPEECH  IN 
PEORIA,  OCTOBER  16,  1854 

In  the  former  edition  of  "Lincoln  in  Peoria" 
regret  was  expressed  that  we  had  been  unable  to 
find  anywhere  an  account  of  the  speech  made  by 
Judge  Douglas  upon  that  occasion. 

Since  then — in  nosing  around  amongst  copies 
of  old  newspapers  in  the  basement  of  the  Peoria 
Library — we  resurrected  the  following  in  the 
Peoria  Daily  Union  of  October  21st,  1854. 

It  will  be  noted  that  the  account  is  only  extracts 
made  by  the  editor.  It  seems  strange  that  a  speech 
of  such  importance — lasting  over  a  period  of 
nearly  three  hours — should  find  no  place  in  any  of 
the  publications  of  the  life  or  speeches  of  Douglas. 
It  will  also  be  noted  that,  throughout,  Douglas 
was  acting  on  the  defensive. 

From  the  Peoria  Daily  Union,  October  21st,   1854 

After  returning  his  thanks  to  the  democracy  of 
Peoria  for  the  kind  reception  extended  to  him, 
Judge  Douglas  proceeded  to  discuss  the  principles 
of  the  Nebraska  Bill,  and  to  defend  himself  against 
the  attacks  of  his  opponents.  Before  entering 
upon  the  merits  of  the  case  he  referred  briefly  to 
the  number  and  political  character  of  the  opposi- 
tion speakers  who  had  been  detailed  to  follow 

143 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

him  through  the  State.  In  an  abolition  settle- 
ment an  abolitionist  was  deputed  as  the  organ  of 
denunciation  and  abuse.  In  another  place,  where 
the  Whigs  were  not  wholly  abolitionized,  a  half 
Whig  was  selected.  In  a  Democratic  locality,  the 
duty  was  assigned  to  any  disaffected  Democrat 
who  was  willing  to  unite  with  the  opponents  of 
the  Nebraska  Bill  and  denounce  its  author.  It 
would  only  be  fair  that  his  antagonist  should  be 
one  who  would  proclaim  the  same  sentiments  in 
Knoxville  that  were  uttered  in  Peoria.  If  this 
were  done,  every  true  Whig  in  Peoria  would  turn 
his  back  upon  the  "fusion"  advocates. 

His  sentiments  could  be  uttered  in  any  locality. 
His  principles  were  broad  and  national,  and  could 
be  proclaimed  with  equal  freedom  in  New  Eng- 
land or  New  Orleans — in  the  east  or  the  west — 
the  north  or  the  south.  Not  so  with  his  oppo- 
nents. Their  principles  were  too  sectional  to  ex- 
tend beyond  the  Ohio,  and  were  designed  to  array 
the  North  against  the  South. 

The  principle  of  the  Nebraska  Bill  was  to  allow 
the  people  of  the  territory  to  decide  domestic  ques- 
tions for  themselves. 

It  had  been  urged  that  there  was  no  necessity 
for  organizing  the  territory  at  this  time,   that  it 

144 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,      ILLINOIS 


was  a  new  idea;  that  no  person  desired  it.  Such 
assertions  were  now  only  used  to  deceive  the  peo- 
ple. They  were  not  true.  The  people  of  Ne- 
braska had  held  elections,  and  sent  delegates  to 
Congress  to  urge  an  immediate  organization  of  the 
territory.  Col.  Benton  himself  had  strenuously 
favored  the  opening  of  that  country  to  settlers. 
Ten  years  ago  Judge  Douglas  had  brought  for- 
ward a  proposition  to  organize  a  territory.  Then 
no  one  objected  to  it.  After  working  at  it  for 
ten  years,  his  opponents  had  just  found  out  that 
it  was  unnecessary  and  useless  to  organize  this 
territory. 

But  there  were  good  substantial  reasons  for  the 
course  he  pursued  in  urging  the  measure. 

It  was  necessary  for  the  protection  of  the  large 
number  of  emigrants  annually  passing  from  the 
east  of  the  distant  shores  of  the  Pacific.  Under  the 
existing  law,  every  emigrant  incurred  a  penalty  of 
a  thousand  dollars  and  imprisonment  for  entering 
the  Indian  Territory.  Should  the  great  highway 
to  the  Pacific  be  blocked  by  the  danger  of  fine  and 
imprisonment?  For  more  than  a  thousand  miles 
through  that  region  there  was  no  protection  to 
persons  or  property — no  judges  to  enforce  obedi- 
ence to  law.  Was  it  right  that  this  vast  extent 
of  country  should  be  left  in  such  a  situation? 
10  145 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


Opponents  of  the  Nebraska  Bill  do  not  like  the 
principle  which  allows  the  people  to  settle  the 
slavery  question  themselves.  Is  that  principle 
right?  Oh  yes,  exclaim  some,  but,  say  they,  you 
should  not  disturb  the  Missouri  Compromise. 

The  Nebraska  Bill  was  made  to  conform  to  the 
compromise  of  1850,  and  was  taken  word  for 
word  from  these  measures.  Was  not  every  Demo- 
crat pledged  to  sustain  the  compromise  of  1850? 
The  Democrats,  at  Baltimore,  pledged  the  party  to 
carry  out  those  principles.  The  Whigs  did  the 
same,  and  Gen.  Scott  accepted  the  nomination 
under  that  pledge.  The  compromise  served  as  a 
model  for  the  Nebraska  measure,  because  it  was 
necessary  to  conform  to  that  principle. 

How  long  have  abolitionists  been  in  favor  of 
the  Missouri  Compromise?  When  he  entered  Con- 
gress, he  found  a  line  dividing  slavery  from  free- 
dom. It  did  not  then  occur  to  him  that  slavery 
south  of  the  line  was  right. 

When  the  annexation  of  Texas  was  proposed, 
the  abolitionists  attempted  to  get  up  a  slavery 
agitation;  and  in  1845  the  line  was  extended  to 
keep  down  that  agitation. 

In  1848  were  acquired  California,  Utah  and 
New  Mexico.     The  abolitionists  wanted  the  Wil- 

146 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

mot  Proviso  applied  to  the  whole  country.  He 
thought  the  slavery  controversy  might  be  avoided 
by  extending  the  line  to  the  Pacific.  A  bill  for 
that  purpose,  on  his  own  motion,  passed  the  Sen- 
ate by  a  majority  of  ten.  It  went  to  the  House, 
and  his  friend  Lincoln  voted  against  it,  and  it  was 
defeated.  (Here,  Mr.  Lincoln  pleasantly  remarked 
that  Douglas  was  a  "doughface."  Douglas  re- 
plied that  "doughface"  meant  something  soft — 
but  Lincoln's  face  was  hard  enough.) 

Who,  asked  Judge  Douglas,  produced  the 
slavery  agitation  in  1848?  Those  who  voted 
down  his  proposition.  Those  who  denounced 
him  then  for  wishing  to  carry  out  the  Missouri 
Compromise  now  denounce  him  for  not  wishing  to 
carry  it  out.  His  speech  in  favor  of  extending  the 
line  was  quoted  against  him  by  every  abolition 
lecturer  and  writer  in  the  country.  He  was 
blamed  for  changing.  Honest  men  will  change, 
and  give  their  reasons  for  so  doing.  He  changed 
because  he  could  not  carry  out  the  measure.  The 
abolitionists  changed  in  order  to  be  opposed  to 
him.  In  1848,  every  abolition  paper  opposed  the 
extension  of  the  line,  and  published  him  as  the 
"solitary  exception"  in  favor  of  it.  They  then 
called  him  "traitor"  for  being  in  favor  of  the  meas- 

147 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


ure,  and  they  now  apply  the  same  epithet  to  him 
for  being  against  it. 

What  was  the  position  of  the  parties  on  this 
question  during  the  presidential  election?  Mr.  Van 
Buren,  nominated  at  Buffalo,  was  in  favor  of 
abolishing  slavery  everywhere  in  the  territories. 
This  applied  to  the  country  south  of  the  line  as 
well  as  north,  and  would  effectually  blot  out  the 
Missouri  Compromise.  Such  being  the  position 
of  the  abolitionists  then — why  do  they  denounce 
him    (Douglas)    for  sanctioning  its  repeal  now? 

They  tried  to  repeal  it  in  1848,  and  failed.  He 
tried  recently,  and  succeeded.  Under  these  cir- 
cumstances, he  thought  abolitionists  had  better 
say  no  more  about  it. 

How  was  it  with  the  Whigs?  Did  they  not 
nominate  Zachary  Taylor,  and  pass  resolutions 
to  prohibit  slavery  in  the  territories?  Thus  they 
were  pledged  to  blot  out  the  Missouri  Compro- 
mise. Did  the  Whigs  regard  it  as  sacred?  Opposi- 
tion to  it  was  then  a  Whig  measure;  but  Douglas 
had  now  effected  its  repeal,  and  the  Whigs  oppose 
him  for  doing  so. 

The  Democrats  nominated  Gen.  Cass.  He 
wrote  the  "Nicholson  letter,"  which  was  familiar 
to  all,  denying  the  right  of  Congress  to  legislate 

148 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


upon  the  subject  of  slavery.  The  Missouri  Com- 
promise was  considered  unconstitutional,  and 
ought  to  be  blotted  out. 

Thus,  six  years  ago,  all  parties  were  united  in 
favor  of  blotting  out  the  line.  The  great  diffi- 
culty was  to  find  a  substitute. 

After  the  Missouri  Compromise  had  been  killed 
by  the  refusal  to  extend  the  line,  he  delivered  its 
funeral  oration  at  Springfield,  and  his  enemies 
now  quote  that  speech  against  him.  After  the 
death  of  the  Missouri  Compromise  by  abandoning 
the  line,  the  slavery  agitation  shook  the  Union 
from  one  extremity  to  the  other,  and  it  became 
necessary  to  adopt  some  other  measure  to  restore 
quiet  to  a  distracted  country.  At  this  juncture 
Henry  Clay  left  his  retreat  and  entered  the  Senate, 
not  as  a  partisan,  but  as  a  patriot,  to  give  the 
nation  the  benefit  of  his  wise  counsels.  Cass  and 
Webster  were  his  compatriots.  The  rest  of  them 
followed  his  lead  for  ten  months,  attempting  to 
effect  an  adjustment  of  the  difficulties  and  dangers 
to  which  the  Union  was  then  exposed.  Whigs 
and  Democrats  in  the  Senate  met  daily  as  friends 
of  the  Union  to  consult  upon  the  best  policy  to 
be  adopted.  They  were  in  favor  of  the  principle 
of  allowing  the  people  to  settle  the  question  for 

149 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


themselves;    and    the    compromise    measures    rest 
upon  that  principle. 

On  his  return  to  Chicago,  in  1850,  he  found 
the  authorities  in  open  rebellion  to  the  law  of  the 
land.  Sick  and  feeble  as  he  was,  he  came  forward 
to  defend  and  explain  the  compromise  measures. 
His  fellow  citizens  heard  him.  and  reaction  imme- 
diately occurred.  The  obnoxious  act  of  the  coun- 
cil was  repealed,  and  Chicago  was  redeemed  from 
the  odium  of  treason  to  the  Government.  An  elec- 
tion was  then  pending  in  the  State  and  the  com- 
promise measures*  were  endorsed  by  a  large  major- 
ity of  the  people.  When  the  legislature  met,  res- 
olutions were  adopted  recognizing  the  binding 
force  of  the  compromise  and  instructing  the  sena- 
tors from  Illinois  as  to  their  duty  in  the  forma- 
tion of  future  territory.  Those  resolutions  em- 
braced the  principle  of  the  compromise  measures 
and  the  Nebraska  Bill.  In  favoring  that  bill  he 
had  obeyed  the  instructions  of  his  legislature;  and 
for  so  doing,  he  was  now  termed  a  "traitor." 

Was  it  right  that  he  should  thus  be  denounced, 
and  burnt  in  effigy,  because  he  had  obeyed  the  in- 
structions of  the  legislature,  which,  at  the  time, 
was  known  to  reflect  the  will  of  a  large  majority 
of  the  people  of  the  State? 

150 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


Among  the  resolutions  adopted  by  the  House 
of  Representatives  was  the  following: 

Resolved:  That  our  liberty  and  indepen- 
dence are  based  upon  the  right  of  the  people 
to  form  for  themselves  such  government  as 
they  might  choose,  and  that  this  great  privi- 
lege, the  birthright  of  freemen,  the  gift  of 
heaven  secured  to  us  by  the  blood  of  our  an- 
cestors, ought  to  be  extended  to  future  gener- 
ations, and  no  limitation  ought  to  be  applied 
to  this  power,  in  the  organization  of  any  ter- 
ritory of  the  United  States,  of  either  a  terri- 
torial government  or  state  constitution,  pro- 
vided the  government  so  established  shall  be 
republican  and  in  conformity  with  the  Con- 
stitution of  the  United  States. 

Every  Democrat  and  every  Whig  in  the  House 
voted  for  this  resolution.  The  only  names  re- 
corded against  it  are  those  of  four  abolitionists. 
How  was  this  unanimity  between  Whigs  and 
Democrats  in  favor  of  the  great  principle  of  the 
self-government  brought  about?  Cass  and  Clay 
had  first  come  together,  and  Union  Whigs  and 
Democrats  afterwards  united  in  favor  of  a  noble 
principle,  upon  which  both  parties  agreed  to  stand 
together. 

When  the  Whigs  met  at  Baltimore  in  1852, 
they  nominated  Gen.  Scott,  and  adopted  a  plat- 

151 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

form  recognizing  the  compromise  measures  as  a 
final  settlement  of  the  slavery  question.  The 
principle  of  the  compromise  was  to  be  applied 
whenever  new  States  came  up  for  admission. 

The  platform  adopted  by  the  Democrats  also 
pledged  our  party  to  an  observance  of  the  com- 
promise measures.  They  did  not  mean  that  no 
more  new  territory  should  be  admitted.  They 
intended  that  the  great  principle  should  be 
applied  to  all  territory  to  be  hereafter  acquired  or 
admitted. 

During  the  campaign,  in  his  speeches  for 
Pierce,  he  had  contended  that  the  Democratic  nom- 
inee was  more  favorable  to  the  principles  of  the 
compromise  than  the  Whig;  but  the  Whigs  then 
claimed  it  as  their  measure.  The  principle  which 
they  then  sanctioned  is  the  same  as  that  upon 
which  the  Nebraska  Bill  is  based.  Two  years  ago 
both  parties  claimed  it,  and  now  every  Whig  is  to 
be  sent  to  perdition  unless  he  goes  with  the  aboli- 
tionists against  Nebraska.  The  Whigs  were  to  be 
made  prisoners  in  the  abolition  camp,  and  con- 
signed to  the  guidance  of  such  leaders  of  the  new 
party  as  Giddings,  Codding,  Blanchard  and 
company. 

The  passage  of  the  act  organizing  the  territory 

152 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


of  Washington  was  evidence  that  the  Whigs  in- 
tended the  principle  of  the  compromise  of  1850 
should  be  applied  in  future. 

That  territory  was  organized  upon  the  princi- 
ple of  the  Nebraska  Bill.  In  1848,  when  Oregon 
was  organized,  the  ordinance  of  '87  was  forced 
upon  it.  President  Polk  signed  the  bill  because 
it  was  consistent  with  the  Missouri  Compromise, 
the  line  of  which  was  to  be  extended  to  the  Pacific. 
But  the  compromise  of  1850  prevented  that  ex- 
tension. Washington  territory  was  organized  in 
1853,  and  was  made  to  conform  to  the  compro- 
mise of  1850.  The  prohibition  imposed  upon  Ore- 
gon was  repealed,  and  the  people  of  Washington 
were  allowed  to  do  as  they  pleased.  Only  one 
year  ago  the  same  principle  of  the  Nebraska  Bill 
was  recognized  in  the  organization  of  Washing- 
ton territory;  and  the  prohibition  which  had  been 
placed  upon  Oregon  was  taken  off  to  conform  to 
the  compromise  measures  of  1850. 

The  bill  organizing  Washington  territory, 
with  the  principle  of  the  Nebraska  Bill,  passed  the 
House  of  Representatives  by  a  vote  of  129  in  the 
affirmative  to  29  in  the  negative;  not  more  than 
three  or  four  northern  Whigs  voted  against  it. 
Here  we  see  that,  one  year  ago,  the  whole  Whig 

153 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


party  voted  for  the  Nebraska  principle.  In  Con- 
gress even  Giddings  and  Yates  were  found  favor- 
ing it.  Was  that  "treason"?  Was  it  "infamous" 
to  pass  the  same  bill  for  Washington  territory 
that  was  passed  for  Nebraska?  The  people  are 
expected  to  keep  silent  when  Whigs  commit  "trea- 
son," but  a  terrible  cry  is  to  be  raised  when  Demo- 
crats do  the  same.  If  Whigs  believed  the  principle 
wrong  they  ought  to  have  said  so  then.  To  hunt 
him  down  now  for  doing  what  they  then  sanc- 
tioned is  to  acknowledge  themselves  to  blame.  It 
would  not  do  for  his  opponents  to  answer  him 
by  speaking  of  the  horrors  of  slavery.  That  had 
no  connection  with  the  principle  in  controversy. 
Some  might  be  curious  to  know  why  the  Whigs 
had  so  suddenly  changed  their  views  upon  the 
slavery  question.  The  reasons  were  easily  found. 
The  Democrats  had  repeatedly  whipped  the 
Whigs,  and  they  were  tired  of  being  in  the  minor- 
ity. They  must  therefore  seize  upon  some  hobby 
to  ride  into  power.  The  abolitionists  stood  ready 
to  trade  with  them.  The  terms  of  the  trade  were 
easily  arranged.  The  Whigs  were  required  to 
adopt  the  abolition  creed,  in  consideration  of 
which  the  abolitionists  were  to  allow  the  Whigs 
to  have  the  candidates.  The  bargain  being  closed, 
the  Whigs  were  to  be  handed  over  to  the  abolition 

154 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


camp.  The  Whig  party  was  thus  to  be  sold  out. 
In  Peoria,  Lincoln  was  expected  to  superintend 
the  transfer.  In  Knoxville,  Blanchard  was  selected 
as  the  agent. 

(Judge  Douglas  read  portions  of  the  abolition 
creed  adopted  in  this  State,  to  show  the  Whigs 
what  principles  they  were  now  required  to  adopt 
to  entitle  them  to  a  place  in  the  new  party.) 

A  great  deal  had  been  said  about  the  Nebraska 
Bill  legislating  slavery  into  that  territory.  He'de- 
nied  that  it  did  any  such  thing.  Every  man  who 
said  the  bill  legislated  slavery  into  free  territory, 
if  he  had  read  it,  stated  what  he  knew  to  be  untrue. 
If  he  had  not  read  it,  he  should  not  speak  of  what 
he  did  not  know. 

Opponents  of  Nebraska  can  let  the  people  south 
of  a  given  line  do  as  they  please,  but  they  are  not 
willing  to  trust  those  north  of  it  with  the  same 
privilege.  This  was  wrong.  He  believed  the 
people  of  the  north  who  emigrated  to  new  ter- 
ritories were  as  capable  of  managing  their  domes- 
tic affairs  as  those  who  remained  behind.  They 
allowed  legislation  upon  every  question  affecting 
their  welfare  as  a  people,  but  they  were  not 
deemed  capable  of  deciding  the  question  of  slavery 
for  themselves.     They  were  permitted  to  legislate 

153 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


upon  every  subject  affecting  the  white  man,  but 
were  to  be  told  that  they  had  not  sufficient  intel- 
ligence to  legislate  for  the  black  man — or  to  de- 
cide the  question  of  slavery  for  themselves.  They 
were  fully  capable  of  self-government,  and  he  was 
willing  to  leave  them  to  the  exercise  of  all  the 
rights  extended  to  other  portions  of  the  Union. 

Having  disposed  of  the  Nebraska  question 
Judge  Douglas  devoted  a  few  moments  to  an  ex- 
amination of  the  principles  and  objects  of  a  new 
organization  termed  the  "American  party"  or 
"Know-Nothings. "  Their  hostility  was  directed 
against  foreigners  and  those  professing  the  Catho- 
lic religion.  Men  were  to  be  proscribed  on  ac- 
count of  their  birth-place  and  their  religious  senti- 
ments. This  was  anti-republican  and  subversive 
of  the  principles  of  the  Constitution.  He  referred 
briefly  to  the  effect  which  this  spirit  of  intolerance 
would  have  exerted  if  it  had  been  adopted  in  the 
early  history  of  our  country.  It  would  have  de- 
prived the  struggling  colonies  of  the  services  and 
assistance  of  a  LaFayette,  a  Steuben,  a  De  Kalb, 
a  Montgomery,  and  a  host  of  other  brave  foreign- 
ers who  risked  their  lives  in  aiding  Americans  to 
assert  and  maintain  the  principles  of  self-govern- 
ment.     This  political  and  religious  proscription 

156 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


would  have  prevented  that  harmonious  union 
among  a  band  of  patriots,  of  various  nations  and 
creeds,  who  gave  to  the  world  a  declaration  which 
proclaimed  civil  and  religious  liberty  to  be  the  sur- 
est and  most  durable  foundation  of  a  free  govern- 
ment. The  principles  of  the  ''Know-Nothings" 
would  have  excluded  such  men  as  a  Hamilton,  a 
Gallatin,  and  a  host  of  other  statesmen,  from  par- 
ticipation in  the  affairs  of  the  government;  and 
would  have  deprived  our  country  in  the  last  war 
with  Mexico  of  the  gallant  services  of  our  dis- 
tinguished Senator,  James  Shields,  who  from  his 
boyhood  has  been  identified  with  our  State,  and 
whose  services  in  civil  life  rank  him  among  the 
statesmen  of  the  country.  Such  men  as  he  are  to 
be  ruthlessly  struck  down,  if  the  "Know-Noth- 
ing" faction,  with  the  aid  of  the  abolitionists,  can 
secure  the  ascendancy  in  Illinois. 

Judge  Douglas  particularly  urged  upon  the 
Democrats  to  keep  aloof  from  all  such  entangling 
alliances,  and  adhere  to  the  good  old  principles  of 
the  Democratic  party,  which  extended  equal  justice 
and  privileges  to  all  citizens  without  regard  to  their 
birth-place  or  their  religion. 

At  the  close  of  Judge  Douglas'  speech  (a  very 

157 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

brief  outline  of  which  we  have  attempted  to  give) , 
Mr.  Lincoln  took  the  stand,  and  after  alluding  to 
the  arrangement  with  Judge  Douglas  proposed 
that  the  meeting  should  adjourn  until  after  sup- 
per; which  was  accordingly  done. 


158 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


THE  ENTRANCE  OF  THE  MEMORIAL 
BUILDING 

Abraham  Lincoln  was  born  on  Rock  Spring 
Farm,  in  Hardin  County,  Kentucky,  on  Febru- 
ary 12,  1809.  The  log  cabin  in  which  he  was 
born  is  still  preserved  surrounded  by  a  beautiful 
Memorial  building.  Ascending  the  steps  the  visi- 
tor reaches  the  entrance  over  which  is  carved  in 
marble  an  extract  from  the  speech  delivered  in 
Peoria,  Illinois,  October  16th,  1854. 

In  the  following  paragraph  of  Lincoln's  ad- 
dress in  Peoria  on  October  16,  1854,  appeared  the 
memorable  words  which  are  carved  in  stone  at  the 
entrance  to  the  Lincoln  Memorial  Building: 

"Some  men,  mostly  Whigs,  who  condemn  the 
repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise,  nevertheless 
hesitate  to  go  for  its  restoration,  lest  they  be 
thrown  in  company  with  the  abolitionists.  Will 
they  allow  me,  as  an  old  Whig,  to  tell  them,  good- 
humoredly,  that  I  think  this  is  very  silly? 
STAND  WITH  ANYBODY  THAT  STANDS 
RIGHT.  STAND  WITH  HIM  WHILE  HE  IS 
RIGHT,  AND  PART  WITH  HIM  WHEN  HE 
GOES  WRONG.  Stand  with  the  abolitionist  in 
restoring  the  Missouri  Compromise,  and  stand 
against  him  when  he  attempts  to  repeal  the  Fugi- 
tive Slave  law.    In  the  latter  case  you  stand  with 

159 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


the  Southern  disunionist.  What  of  that?  You  are 
still  right.  In  both  cases  you  are  right.  In  both 
cases  you  oppose  the  dangerous  extremes.  In  both 
you  stand  on  middle  ground,  and  hold  the  ship 
level  and  steady.  In  both  you  are  national,  and 
nothing  less  than  national.  This  is  the  good  old 
Whig  ground.  To  desert  such  ground  because  of 
any  company  is  to  be  less  than  a  Whig — less  than 
a  man — less  than  an  American/' 


60 


2    £ 

UJ  O 

-1     u 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

SPEECH  AT  PEORIA,  ILLINOIS,  IN  REPLY 

TO  SENATOR  DOUGLAS 

OCTOBER  16,  1854 

As  printed  in  seven  numbers  of  the  Illinois 
Daily  Journal,  Springfield,  111.,  on  October  21, 
1854;  October  23,  1854;  October  24,  1854;  Oc- 
tober 25,  1854;  October  26,  1854;  October  27, 
1854,  and  October  29,  1854.  The  publishers  of 
the  Illinois  Journal  at  that  time  were  S.  and  A. 
Francis. 

Lincoln's  Peoria  speech  was  written  out  and  cor- 
rected at  Springfield  three  days  after  its  delivery. 
It  is  believed  that  this  is  the  only  one  of  his 
political  addresses  so  revised.  It  gives  evidence  of 
profound  thought  and  careful  preparation,  thus 
forming  the  basis  for  all  of  his  subsequent  utter- 
ances, including  the  debates  of  1858  and  his 
Cooper  Institute  speech. 

The  two  opening  paragraphs  are  from  the 
newspaper  accounts  of  that  date.  Lincoln's  own 
account  follows: 

I  do  not  rise  to  speak  now,  if  I  can  stipulate 
with  the  audience  to  meet  me  here  at  half-past  six 
or  at  seven  o'clock.  It  is  now  several  minutes 
past  five,  and  Judge  Douglas  has  spoken  over  three 
hours.     If  you  hear  me  at  all,  I  wish  you  to  hear 

165 


ABRAHAM,     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

me  through.  It  will  take  me  as  long  as  it  has  taken 
him.  That  will  carry  us  beyond  eight  o'clock  at 
night.  Now,  every  one  of  you  who  can  remain 
that  long  can  just  as  well  get  his  supper,  meet  me 
at  seven,  and  remain  an  hour  or  two  later.  The 
Judge  has  already  informed  you  that  he  is  to  have 
an  hour  to  reply  to  me.  I  doubt  not  but  you  have 
been  a  little  surprised  to  learn  that  I  have  con- 
sented to  give  one  of  his  high  reputation  and 
known  ability  this  advantage  of  me.  Indeed,  my 
consenting  to  it,  though  reluctant,  was  not  wholly 
unselfish,  for  I  suspected,  if  it  were  understood 
that  the  Judge  was  entirely  done,  you  Democrats 
would  leave  and  not  hear  me;  but  by  giving  him 
the  close,  I  felt  confident  you  would  stay  for  the 
fun  of  hearing  him  skin  me. 

The  audience  signified  their  assent  to  the  ar- 
rangement, and  adjourned  till  seven  o'clock  P.  M., 
at  which  time  they  reassembled,  and  Mr.  Lincoln 
spoke  as  follows: 

Illinois  Daily  Journal,  October  21,  1854: 

The  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise,  and 
the  propriety  of  its  restoration,  constitute  the  sub- 
ject of  what  I  am  about  to  say.  As  I  desire  to 
present  my  own  connected  view  of  this  subject, 
my  remarks  will  not  be  specifically  an  answer  to 
Judge  Douglas;  yet,  as  I  proceed,  the  main  points 

167 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


he  has  presented  will  arise,  and  will  receive  such 
respectful  attention  as  I  may  be  able  to  give  them. 
I  wish  further  to  say  that  I  do  not  propose  to  ques- 
tion the  patriotism  or  to  assail  the  motives  of  any 
man  or  class  of  men,  but  rather  to  confine  myself 
strictly  to  the  naked  merits  of  the  question.  I  also 
wish  to  be  no  less  than  national  in  all  the  positions 
I  may  take,  and  whenever  I  take  ground  which 
others  have  thought,  or  may  think,  narrow,  sec- 
tional, and  dangerous  to  the  Union,  I  hope  to  give 
a  reason  which  will  appear  sufficient,  at  least  to 
some,  why  I  think  differently. 

And  as  this  subject  is  no  other  than  part  and 
parcel  of  the  larger  general  question  of  domestic 
slavery,  I  wish  to  make  and  to  keep  the  distinction 
between  the  existing  institution  and  the  extension 
of  it  so  broad  and  so  clear  that  no  honest  man  can 
misunderstand  me,  and  no  dishonest  one  success- 
fully misrepresent  me. 

In  order  to  a  clear  understanding  of  what  the 
Missouri  Compromise  is,  a  short  history  of  the 
preceding  kindred  subjects  will  perhaps  be  proper. 

When  we  established  our  independence,  we  did 
not  own  or  claim  the  country  to  which  this  com- 
promise applies.  Indeed,  strictly  speaking,  the 
Confederacy  then  owned  no  country  at  all;  the 
States  respectively  owned  the  country  within  their 

168 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


limits,  and  some  of  them  owned  territory  beyond 
their  strict  State  limits.  Virginia  thus  owned  the 
Northwestern  Territory  —  the  country  out  of 
which  the  principal  part  of  Ohio,  all  Indiana,  all 
Illinois,  all  Michigan,  and  all  Wisconsin  have  since 
been  formed.  She  also  owned  (perhaps  within 
her  then  limits)  what  has  since  been  formed  into 
the  State  of  Kentucky.  North  Carolina  thus 
owned  what  is  now  the  State  of  Tennessee;  and 
South  Carolina  and  Georgia  owned,  in  separate 
parts,  what  are  now  Mississippi  and  Alabama. 
Connecticut,  I  think,  owned  the  little  remaining 
part  of  Ohio,  being  the  same  where  they  now  send 
Giddings  to  Congress  and  beat  all  creation  in  mak- 
ing cheese. 

These  territories,  together  with  the  States  them- 
selves, constitute  all  the  country  over  which  the 
Confederacy  then  claimed  any  sort  of  jurisdiction. 
We  were  then  living  under  the  Articles  of  Confed- 
eration, which  were  superseded  by  the  Constitu- 
tion several  years  afterward.  The  question  of 
ceding  the  territories  to  the  General  Government 
was  set  on  foot.  Mr.  Jefferson,- — the  author  of 
the  Declaration  of  Independence,  and  otherwise  a 
chief  actor  in  the  Revolution;  then  a  delegate  in 
Congress;  afterward,  twice  President;  who  was,  is, 
and  perhaps  will  continue  to  be,  the  most  distin- 

169 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

guished  politician  of  our  history;  a  Virginian  by 
birth  and  continued  residence,  and  withal  a  slave- 
holder,— conceived  the  idea  of  taking  that  occa- 
sion to  prevent  slavery  ever  going  into  the  North- 
western Territory.  He  prevailed  on  the  Virginia 
Legislature  to  adopt  his  views,  and  to  cede  the 
Territory,  making  the  prohibition  of  slavery 
therein  a  condition  of  the  deed.1  Congress  accept- 
ed the  cession  with  the  condition;  and  the  first 
ordinance  (which  the  acts  of  Congress  were  then 
called)  for  the  government  of  the  Territory  pro- 
vided that  slavery  should  never  be  permitted 
therein.  This  is  the  famed  "Ordinance  of  '87,"  so 
often  spoken  of. 

Thenceforward  for  sixty-one  years,  and  until, 
in  1848,  the  last  scrap  of  this  Territory  came  into 
the  Union  as  the  State  of  Wisconsin,  all  parties 
acted  in  quiet  obedience  to  this  ordinance.  It  is 
now  what  Jefferson  foresaw  and  intended — the 
happy  home  of  teeming  millions  of  free,  white, 
prosperous  people,  and  no  slave  among  them. 

Thus,  with  the  author  of  the  Declaration  of 
Independence,  the  policy  of  prohibiting  slavery  in 
new  territory  originated.  Thus,  away  back  to  the 
Constitution,  in  the  pure,  fresh,  free  breath  of  the 

1  Mr.  Lincoln  afterward  authorized  the  correction  of  the  error  into 
which  the  report  here  falls,  with  regard  to  the  prohibition  being  made 
a  condition  of  the  deed.     It  was  not  a  condition. 

170 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


Revolution,  the  State  of  Virginia  and  the  national 
Congress  put  that  policy  into  practice.  Thus, 
through  more  than  sixty  of  the  best  years  of  the 
republic,  did  that  policy  steadily  work  to  its  great 
and  beneficent  end.  And  thus,  in  those  five  States, 
and  in  five  millions  of  free,  enterprising  people,  we 
have  before  us  the  rich  fruits  of  this  policy. 

But  now  new  light  breaks  upon  us.  Now  Con- 
gress declares  this  ought  never  to  have  been,  and 
the  like  of  it  must  never  be  again.  The  sacred 
right  of  self-government  is  grossly  violated  by  it. 
We  even  find  some  men  who  drew  their  first  breath 
— and  every  other  breath  of  their  lives — under  this 
very  restriction,  now  live  in  dread  of  absolute  suf- 
focation if  they  should  be  restricted  in  the  "sacred 
right"  of  taking  slaves  to  Nebraska.  That  perfect 
liberty  they  sigh  for — the  liberty  of  making  slaves 
of  other  people — Jefferson  never  thought  of,  their 
own  fathers  never  thought  of,  they  never  thought 
of,  themselves,  a  year  ago.  How  fortunate  for 
them  they  did  not  sooner  become  sensible  of  their 
great  misery!  Oh,  how  difficult  it  is  to  treat  with 
respect  such  assaults  upon  all  we  have  ever  really 
held  sacred! 

But  to  return  to  history.  In  1 803  we  purchased 
what  was  then  called  Louisiana,  of  France.  It  in- 
cluded the  present  States  of  Louisiana,  Arkansas, 

171 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


Missouri,  and  Iowa;  also  the  Territory  of  Minne- 
sota, and  the  present  bone  of  contention,  Kansas 
and  Nebraska,  Slavery  already  existed  among  the 
French  at  New  Orleans,  and  to  some  extent  at  St. 
Louis.  In  1812,  Louisiana  came  into  the  Union  as 
a  slave  State,  without  controversy.  In  1818  or 
'19,  Missouri  showed  signs  of  a  wish  to  come  in 
with  slavery.  This  was  resisted  by  Northern 
members  of  Congress;  and  thus  began  the  first 
great  slavery  agitation  in  the  nation.  This  con- 
troversy lasted  several  months  and  became  very 
angry  and  exciting — the  House  of  Representatives 
voting  steadily  for  the  prohibition  of  slavery  in 
Missouri,  and  the  Senate  voting  as  steadily  against 
it.  Threats  of  the  breaking  up  of  the  Union  were 
freely  made,  and  the  ablest  public  men  of  the  day 
became  seriously  alarmed.  At  length  a  compromise 
was  made,  in  which,  as  in  all  compromises,  both 
sides  yielded  something.  It  was  a  law,  passed  on 
the  6th  of  March,  1820,  providing  that  Missouri 
might  come  into  the  Union  with  slavery,  but  that 
in  all  the  remaining  part  of  the  territory  purchased 
of  France  which  lies  north  of  thirty-six  degrees 
and  thirty  minutes  north  latitude,  slavery  should 
never  be  permitted.  This  provision  of  law  is  the 
"Missouri  Compromise."  In  excluding  slavery 
north  of  the  line,  the  same  language  is  employed 

172 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

as  in  the  Ordinance  of  1787.  It  directly  applied 
to  Iowa,  Minnesota,  and  to  the  present  bone  of 
contention,  Kansas  and  Nebraska.  Whether  there 
should  or  should  not  be  slavery  south  of  that  line, 
nothing  was  said  in  the  law.  But  Arkansas  con- 
stituted the  principal  remaining  part  south  of  the 
line;  and  it  has  since  been  admitted  as  a  slave  State, 
without  serious  controversy.  More  recently,  Iowa, 
north  of  the  line,  came  in  as  a  free  State  without 
controversy.  Still  later,  Minnesota,  north  of  the 
line,  had  a  territorial  organization  without  con- 
troversy. Texas,  principally  south  of  the  line, 
and  west  of  Arkansas,  though  originally  within 
the  purchase  from  France,  had,  in  1819,  been 
traded  off  to  Spain  in  our  treaty  for  the  acquisi- 
tion of  Florida.  It  had  thus  become  a  part  of 
Mexico.  Mexico  revolutionized  and  became  inde- 
pendent of  Spain.  American  citizens  began  set- 
tling rapidly  with  their  slaves  in  the  southern  part 
of  Texas.  Soon  they  revolutionized  against 
Mexico,  and  established  an  independent  govern- 
ment of  their  own,  adopting  a  constitution  with 
slavery,  strongly  resembling  the  constitutions  of 
our  slave  States.  By  still  another  rapid  move, 
Texas,  claiming  a  boundary  much  farther  west 
than  when  we  parted  with  her  in  1819,  was 
brought  back  to  the  United  States,  and  admitted 

173 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

into  the  Union  as  a  slave  State.  Then  there  was 
little  or  no  settlement  in  the  northern  part  of 
Texas,  a  considerable  portion  of  which  lay  north 
of  the  Missouri  line;  and  in  the  resolutions  ad- 
mitting her  into  the  Union,  the  Missouri  restric- 
tion was  expressly  extended  westward  across  her 
territory.  This  was  in  1845,  only  nine  years 
ago. 

Thus  originated  the  Missouri  Compromise;  and 
thus  has  it  been  respected  down  to  1845.  And 
even  four  years  later,  in  1849,  our  distinguished 
Senator,  in  a  public  address,  held  the  following 
language  in  relation  to  it: 

"The  Missouri  Compromise  has  been  in  prac- 
tical operation  for  about  a  quarter  of  a  century, 
and  has  received  the  sanction  and  approbation  of 
men  of  all  parties  in  every  section  of  the  Union. 
It  has  allayed  all  sectional  jealousies  and  irritations 
growing  out  of  this  vexed  question,  and  harmo- 
nized and  tranquillized  the  whole  country.  It  has 
given  to  Henry  Clay,  as  its  prominent  champion, 
the  proud  sobriquet  of  the  'Great  Pacificator/ 
and  by  that  title,  and  for  that  service,  his  political 
friends  had  repeatedly  appealed  to  the  people  to 
rally  under  his  standard  as  a  Presidential  candi- 
date, as  the  man  who  had  exhibited  the  patriotism 
and  power  to  suppress  an  unholy  and  treasonable 

174 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


agitation,  and  preserve  the  Union.  He  was  not 
aware  that  any  man  or  any  party,  from  any  sec- 
tion of  the  Union,  had  ever  urged  as  an  objection 
to  Mr.  Clay  that  he  was  the  great  champion  of  the 
Missouri  Compromise.  On  the  contrary,  the  effort 
was  made  by  the  opponents  of  Mr.  Clay  to  prove 
that  he  was  not  entitled  to  the  exclusive  merit  of 
that  great  patriotic  measure,  and  that  the  honor 
was  equally  due  to  others,  as  well  as  to  him,  for 
securing  its  adoption;  that  it  had  its  origin  in 
the  hearts  of  all  patriotic  men,  who  desired  to  pre- 
serve and  perpetuate  the  blessings  of  our  glorious 
Union — an  origin  akin  to  that  of  the  Constitution 
of  the  United  States,  conceived  in  the  same  spirit 
of  fraternal  affection,  and  calculated  to  remove 
forever  the  only  danger  which  seemed  to  threaten, 
at  some  distant  day,  to  sever  the  social  bond  of 
union.  All  the  evidences  of  public  opinion  at  that 
day  seemed  to  indicate  that  this  compromise  had 
been  canonized  in  the  hearts  of  the  American  peo- 
ple as  a  sacred  thing  which  no  ruthless  hand 
would  ever  be  reckless  enough  to  disturb." 

I  do  not  read  this  extract  to  involve  Judge 
Douglas  in  an  inconsistency.  If  he  afterward 
thought  he  had  been  wrong,  it  was  right  for  him 
to  change.     I  bring  this  forward  merely  to  show 

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ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

the  high  estimate  placed  on  the  Missouri  Compro- 
mise by  all  parties  up  to  so  late  as  the  year  1 849. 

But  going  back  a  little  in  point  of  time.  Our 
war  with  Mexico  broke  out  in  1 846.  When  Con- 
gress was  about  adjourning  that  session,  President 
Polk  asked  them  to  place  two  millions  of  dollars 
under  his  control,  to  be  used  by  him  in  the  recess, 
if  found  practicable  and  expedient,  in  negotiating 
a  treaty  of  peace  with  Mexico  and  acquiring  some 
part  of  her  territory.  A  bill  was  duly  gotten  up 
for  the  purpose,  and  was  progressing  swimmingly 
in  the  House  of  Representatives,  when  a  member 
by  the  name  of  David  Wilmot,  a  Democrat  from 
Pennsylvania,  moved  as  an  amendment,  "Provid- 
ed, that  in  any  territory  thus  acquired  there  never 
shall  be  slavery." 

This  is  the  origin  of  the  far-famed  Wilmot  Pro- 
viso. It  created  a  great  flutter;  but  it  stuck  like 
wax,  was  voted  into  the  bill,  and  the  bill  passed 
with  it  through  the  House.  The  Senate,  however, 
adjourned  without  final  action  on  it,  and  so  both 
appropriation  and  proviso  were  lost  for  the  time. 
The  war  continued,  and  at  the  next  session  the 
President  renewed  his  request  for  the  appropria- 
tion, enlarging  the  amount,  I  think,  to  three  mil- 
lions. Again  came  the  proviso,  and  defeated  the 
measure.      Congress  adjourned  again,  and  the  war 

176 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


went  on.  In  December,  1847,  the  new  Congress 
assembled.  I  was  in  the  lower  House  that  term. 
The  Wilmot  Proviso,  or  the  principle  of  it,  was 
constantly  coming  up  in  some  shape  or  other,  and 
I  think  I  may  venture  to  say  I  voted  for  it  at  least 
forty  times  during  the  short  time  I  was  there. 
The  Senate,  however,  held  it  in  check,  and  it  never 
became  a  law.  In  the  spring  of  1848  a  treaty  of 
peace  was  made  with  Mexico  by  which  we  obtained 
that  portion  of  her  country  which  now  consti- 
tutes the  Territories  of  New  Mexico  and  Utah  and 
the  present  State  of  California.  By  this  treaty  the 
Wilmot  Proviso  was  defeated,  in  so  far  as  it  was 
intended  to  be  a  condition  of  the  acquisition  of  ter- 
ritory. Its  friends,  however,  were  still  determined 
to  find  some  way  to  restrain  slavery  from  getting 
into  the  new  country.  This  new  acquisition  lay  di- 
rectly west  of  our  old  purchase  from  France,  and 
extended  west  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  and  was  so  sit- 
uated that  if  the  Missouri  line  should  be  extended 
straight  west,  the  new  country  would  be  divided 
by  such  extended  line,  leaving  some  north  and 
some  south  of  it.  On  Judge  Douglas's  motion,  a 
bill,  or  provision  of  a  bill,  passed  the  Senate  to  so 
extend  the  Missouri  line.  The  proviso  men  in  the 
House,  including  myself,  voted  it  down,  because, 
12  177 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


by  implication,  it  gave  up  the  southern  part  to 
slavery,  while  we  were  bent  on  having  it  all  free. 

In  the  fall  of  1848  the  gold-mines  were  dis- 
covered in  California.  This  attracted  people  to 
it  with  unprecedented  rapidity,  so  that  on,  or  soon 
after,  the  meeting  of  the  new  Congress  in  Decem- 
ber, 1849,  she  already  had  a  population  of  nearly 
a  hundred  thousand,  had  called  a  convention, 
formed  a  State  constitution  excluding  slavery,  and 
was  knocking  for  admission  into  the  Union.  The 
proviso  men,  of  course,  were  for  letting  her  in,  but 
the  Senate,  always  true  to  the  other  side,  would 
not  consent  to  her  admission,  and  there  California 
stood,  kept  out  of  the  Union  because  she  would 
not.  let  slavery  into  her  borders.  Under  all  the 
circumstances,  perhaps,  this  was  not  wrong.  There 
were  other  points  of  dispute  connected  with  the 
general  question  of  slavery,  which  equally  needed 
adjustment.  The  South  clamored  for  a  more 
efficient  fugitive  slave  law.  The  North  clamored 
for  the  abolition  of  a  peculiar  species  of  slave-trade 
in  the  District  of  Columbia,  in  connection  with 
which,  in  view  from  the  windows  of  the  Capitol, 
a  sort  of  negro  livery-stable,  where  droves  of 
negroes  were  collected,  temporarily  kept,  and 
finally  taken  to  Southern  markets,  precisely  like 
droves  of  horses,  had  been  openly  maintained  for 

178 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


fifty  years.  Utah  and  New  Mexico  needed  terri- 
torial governments;  and  whether  slavery  should 
or  should  not  be  prohibited  within  them  was  an- 
other question.  The  indefinite  western  boundary 
of  Texas  was  to  be  settled.  She  was  a  slave  State, 
and,  consequently,  the  farther  west  the  slavery 
men  could  push  her  boundary,  the  more  slave  coun- 
try they  secured;  and  the  farther  east  the  slavery 
opponents  could  thrust  the  boundary  back,  the 
less  slave  ground  was  secured.  Thus  this  was  just 
as  clearly  a  slavery  question  as  any  of  the  others. 

These  points  all  needed  adjustment,  and  they 
were  held  up,  perhaps  wisely,  to  make  them  help 
adjust  one  another.  The  Union  now,  as  in  1820, 
was  thought  to  be  in  danger,  and  devotion  to  the 
Union  rightfully  inclined  men  to  yield  somewhat 
in  points  where  nothing  else  could  have  so  in- 
clined them.  A  compromise  was  finally  effected. 
The  South  got  their  new  fugitive  slave  law,  and 
the  North  got  California  (by  far  the  best  part  of 
our  acquisition  from  Mexico)  as  a  free  State.  The 
South  got  a  provision  that  New  Mexico  and  Utah, 
when  admitted  as  States,  may  come  in  with  or 
without  slavery  as  they  may  then  choose;  and  the 
North  got  the  slave-trade  abolished  in  the  District 
of  Columbia.  The  North  got  the  western  boun- 
dary of  Texas  thrown  farther  back  eastward  than 

179 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


the  South  desired;  but,  in  turn,  they  gave  Texas 
ten  millions  of  dollars  with  which  to  pay  her  old 
debts.     This  is  the  Compromise  of  1850. 

Preceding  the  Presidential  election  of  1852,  each 
of  the  great  political  parties,  Democrats  and 
Whigs,  met  in  convention  and  adopted  resolutions 
indorsing  the  Compromise  of  '50  as  a  "finality/' 
a  final  settlement,  so  far  as  these  parties  could  make 
it  so,  of  all  slavery  agitation.  Previous  to  this,  in 
1851,  the  Illinois  Legislature  had  indorsed  it. 

During  this  long  period  of  time,  Nebraska  had 
remained  substantially  an  uninhabited  country, 
but  now  emigration  to  and  settlement  within  it 
began  to  take  place.  It  is  about  one  third  as  large 
as  the  present  United  States,  and  its  importance, 
so  long  overlooked,  begins  to  come  into  view.  The 
restriction  of  slavery  by  the  Missouri  Compromise 
directly  applies  to  it — in  fact  was  first  made,  and 
has  since  been  maintained,  expressly  for  it.  In 
1853,  a  bill  to  give  it  a  territorial  government 
passed  the  House  of  Representatives,  and,  in  the 
hands  of  Judge  Douglas,  failed  of  passing  only 
for  want  of  time.  This  bill  contained  no  repeal 
of  the  Missouri  Compromise.  Indeed,  when  it 
was  assailed  because  it  did  not  contain  such  repeal, 
Judge  Douglas  defended  it  in  its  existing  form. 
On  January  4,  1854,  Judge  Douglas  introduces  a 

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ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

new  bill  to  give  Nebraska  territorial  government. 
He  accompanies  this  bill  with  a  report,  in  which 
last  he  expressly  recommends  that  the  Missouri 
Compromise  shall  neither  be  affirmed  nor  repealed. 

Illinois  Daily  Journal,  October  23,  1854: 

Before  long  the  bill  is  so  modified  as  to  make  two 
territories  instead  of  one,  calling  the  southern  one 
Kansas. 

Also,  about  a  month  after  the  introduction  of 
the  bill,  on  the  Judge's  own  motion  it  is  so  amend- 
ed as  to  declare  the  Missouri  Compromise  inopera- 
tive and  void;  and,  substantially,  that  the  people 
who  go  and  settle  there  may  establish  slavery,  or 
exclude  it,  as  they  may  see  fit.  In  this  shape  the 
bill  passed  both  branches  of  Congress  and  became 
a  law. 

This  is  the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise. 
The  foregoing  history  may  not  be  precisely  accur- 
ate in  every  particular,  but  I  am  sure  it  is  suffi- 
ciently so  for  all  the  use  I  shall  attempt  to  make  of 
it,  and  in  it  we  have  before  us  the  chief  material 
enabling  us  to  judge  correctly  whether  the  repeal 
of  the  Missouri  Compromise  is  right  or  wrong. 
I  think,  and  shall  try  to  show,  that  it  is  wrong — 
wrong  in  its  direct  effect,  letting  slavery  into  Kan- 
sas and  Nebraska,  and  wrong  in  its  prospective 

181 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


principle,  allowing  it  to  spread  to  every  other  part 
of  the  wide  world  where  men  can  be  found  in- 
clined to  take  it. 

This  declared  indifference,  but,  as  I  must  think, 
covert  real  zeal,  for  the  spread  of  slavery,  I  can- 
not but  hate.  I  hate  it  because  of  the  monstrous 
injustice  of  slavery  itself.  I  hate  it  because  it  de- 
prives our  republican  example  of  its  just  influence 
in  the  world;  enables  the  enemies  of  free  institu- 
tions with  plausibility  to  taunt  us  as  hypocrites; 
causes  the  real  friends  of  freedom  to  doubt  our  sin- 
cerity; and  especially  because  it  forces  so  many 
good  men  among  ourselves  into  an  open  war  with 
the  very  fundamental  principles  of  civil  liberty, 
criticizing  the  Declaration  of  Independence,  and 
insisting  that  there  is  no  right  principle  of  action 
but  self-interest. 

Before  proceeding,  let  me  say  that  I  think  I  have 
no  prejudice  against  the  Southern  people.  They 
are  just  what  we  would  be  in  their  situation.  If 
slavery  did  not  now  exist  among  them,  they  would 
not  introduce  it.  If  it  did  now  exist  among  us, 
we  should  not  instantly  give  it  up.  This  I  believe 
of  the  masses  North  and  South.  Doubtless  there 
are  individuals  on  both  sides  who  would  not  hold 
slaves  under  any  circumstances,  and  others  who 
would  gladly  introduce  slavery  anew  if  it  were  out 

182 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

of  existence.  We  know  that  some  Southern  men 
do  free  their  slaves,  go  North  and  become  tip-top 
abolitionists,  while  some  Northern  ones  go  South 
and  become  most  cruel  slave-masters. 

When  Southern  people  tell  us  that  they  are  no 
more  responsible  for  the  origin  of  slavery  than  we 
are,  I  acknowledge  the  fact.  When  it  is  said  that 
the  institution  exists,  and  that  it  is  very  difficult  to 
get  rid  of  it  in  any  satisfactory  way,  I  can  under- 
stand and  appreciate  the  saying.  I  surely  will  not 
blame  them  for  not  doing  what  I  should  not  know 
how  to  do  myself.  If  all  earthly  power  were  given 
me,  I  should  not  know  what  to  do  as  to  the  exist- 
ing institution.  My  first  impulse  would  be  to  free 
all  the  slaves,  and  send  them  to  Liberia,  to  their 
own  native  land.  But  a  moment's  reflection 
would  convince  me  that  whatever  of  high  hope  (as 
I  think  there  is)  there  may  be  in  this  in  the  long 
run,  its  sudden  execution  is  impossible.  If  they 
were  all  landed  there  in  a  day,  they  would  all  per- 
ish in  the  next  ten  days;  and  there  are  not  surplus 
shipping  and  surplus  money  enough  to  carry  them 
there  in  many  times  ten  days.  What  then?  Free 
them  all,  and  keep  them  among  us  as  underlings? 
Is  it  quite  certain  that  this  betters  their  condition? 
I  think  I  would  not  hold  one  in  slavery  at  any 
rate,  yet  the  point  is  not  clear  enough  for  me  to 

183 


ABRAHAM;     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


denounce  people  upon.  What  next?  Free  them, 
and  make  them  politically  and  socially  our  equals? 
My  own  feelings  will  not  admit  of  this,  and  if 
mine  would,  we  well  know  that  those  of  the  great 
mass  of  whites  will  not.  Whether  this  feeling  ac- 
cords with  justice  and  sound  judgment  is  not  the 
sole  question,  if  indeed  it  is  any  part  of  it.  A  uni- 
versal feeling,  whether  well  or  ill  founded,  cannot 
be  safely  disregarded.  We  cannot  then  make  them 
equals.  It  does  seem  to  me  that  systems  of  gradual 
emancipation  might  be  adopted,  but  for  their  tar- 
diness in  this  I  will  not  undertake  to  judge  our 
brethren  of  the  South. 

When  they  remind  us  of  their  constitutional 
rights,  I  acknowledge  them — not  grudgingly,  but 
fully  and  fairly;  and  I  would  give  them  any  legis- 
lation for  the  reclaiming  of  their  fugitives  which 
should  not  in  its  stringency  be  more  likely  to  carry 
a  free  man  into  slavery  than  our  ordinary  criminal 
laws  are  to  hang  an  innocent  one. 

But  all  this,  to  my  judgment,  furnishes  no  more 
excuse  for  permitting  slavery  to  go  into  our  own 
free  territory  than  it  would  for  reviving  the  Afri- 
can slave-trade  by  law.  The  law  which  forbids 
the  bringing  of  slaves  from  Africa,  and  that  which 
has  so  long  forbidden  the  taking  of  them  into 
Nebraska,    can   hardly   be   distinguished   on   any 

184 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


moral  principle,  and  the  repeal  of  the  former  could 
find  quite  as  plausible  excuses  as  that  of  the  latter. 
The  arguments  by  which  the  repeal  of  the  Mis- 
souri Compromise  is  sought  to  be  justified  are 
these:  First,  That  the  Nebraska  country  needed  a 
territorial  government.  Second,  That  in  various 
ways  the  public  had  repudiated  that  compromise 
and  demanded  the  repeal,  and  therefore  should  not 
now  complain  of  it.  And,  lastly,  That  the  repeal 
establishes  a  principle  which  is  intrinsically  right. 

I  will  attempt  an  answer  to  each  of  them  in  its 
turn.  First,  then:  If  that  country  was  in  need  of  a 
territorial  organization,  could  it  not  have  had  it  as 
well  without  as  with  a  repeal?  Iowa  and  Minne- 
sota, to  both  of  which  the  Missouri  restriction 
applied,  had,  without  its  repeal,  each  in  succession, 
territorial  organizations.  And  even  the  year  be- 
fore, a  bill  for  Nebraska  itself  was  within  an  ace 
of  passing  without  the  repealing  clause,  and  this 
in  the  hands  of  the  same  men  who  are  now  the 
champions  of  repeal.  Why  no  necessity  then  for 
repeal?  But  still  later,  when  this  very  bill  was 
first  brought  in,  it  contained  no  repeal.  But,  say 
they,  because  the  people  had  demanded,  or  rather 
commanded,  the  repeal,  the  repeal  was  to  accom- 
pany the  organization  whenever  that  should  occur. 

Now,  I  deny  that  the  public  ever  demanded  any 

185 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


such  thing — ever  repudiated  the  Missouri  Com- 
promise, ever  commanded  its  repeal.  I  deny  it, 
and  call  for  the  proof.  It  is  not  contended,  I  be- 
lieve, that  any  such  command  has  ever  been  given 
in  express  terms.  It  is  only  said  that  it  was  done 
in  principle.  The  support  of  the  Wilmot  Proviso 
is  the  first  fact  mentioned  to  prove  that  the  Mis- 
souri restriction  was  repudiated  in  principle,  and 
the  second  is  the  refusal  to  extend  the  Missouri  line 
over  the  country  acquired  from  Mexico.  These 
are  near  enough  alike  to  be  treated  together.  The 
one  was  to  exclude  the  chances  of  slavery  from  the 
whole  new  acquisition  by  the  lump,  and  the  other 
was  to  reject  a  division  of  it,  by  which  one  half 
was  to  be  given  up  to  those  chances.  Now, 
whether  this  was  a  repudiation  of  the  Missouri 
line  in  principle  depends  upon  whether  the  Mis- 
souri law  contained  any  principle  requiring  the 
line  to  be  extended  over  the  country  acquired  from 
Mexico.  I  contend  it  did  not.  I  insist  that  it  con- 
tained no  general  principle,  but  that  it  was,  in 
every  sense,  specific.  That  its  terms  limit  it  to  the 
country  purchased  from  France  is  undenied  and 
undeniable.  It  could  have  no  principle  beyond 
the  intention  of  those  who  made  it.  They  did  not 
intend  to  extend  the  line  to  country  which  they 
did  not  own.     If  they  intended  to  extend  it  in  the 

186 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

event  of  acquiring  additional  territory,  why  did 
they  not  say  so?  It  was  just  as  easy  to  say  that  "in 
all  the  country  west  of  the  Mississippi  which  we 
now  own,  or  may  hereafter  acquire,  there  shall 
never  be  slavery,"  as  to  say  what  they  did  say; 
and  they  would  have  said  it  if  they  had  meant  it. 
An  intention  to  extend  the  law  is  not  only  not 
mentioned  in  the  law,  but  is  not  mentioned  in  any 
contemporaneous  history.  Both  the  law  itself, 
and  the  history  of  the  times,  are  a  blank  as  to  any 
principle  of  extension;  and  by  neither  the  known 
rules  of  construing  statutes  and  contracts,  nor  by 
common  sense,  can  any  such  principle  be  inferred. 

Another  fact  showing  the  specific  character  of 
the  Missouri  law — showing  that  it  intended  no 
more  than  it  expressed,  showing  that  the  line  was 
not  intended  as  a  universal  dividing  line  between 
free  and  slave  territory,  present  and  prospective, 
north  of  which  slavery  could  never  go — is  the  fact 
that  by  that  very  law  Missouri  came  in  as  a  slave 
State,  north  of  the  line.  If  that  law  contained 
any  prospective  principle,  the  whole  law  must  be 
looked  to  in  order  to  ascertain  what  the  principle 
was.  And  by  this  rule  the  South  could  fairly  con- 
tend that,  inasmuch  as  they  got  one  slave  State 
north  of  the  line  at  the  inception  of  the  law,  they 
have  the  right  to  have  another  given  them  north 

187 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


of  it  occasionally,  now  and  then,  in  the  indefinite 
westward  extension  of  the  line.  This  demon- 
strates the  absurdity  cf  attempting  to  deduce  a 
prospective  principle  from  the  Missouri  Compro- 
mise line. 

When  we  voted  for  the  Wilmot  Proviso  we 
were  voting  to  keep  slavery  out  of  the  whole 
Mexican  acquisition,  and  little  did  we  think  we 
were  thereby  voting  to  let  it  into  Nebraska,  lying 
several  hundred  miles  distant.  When  we  voted 
against  extending  the  Missouri  line,  little  did  we 
think  we  were  voting  to  destroy  the  old  line,  then 
of  near  thirty  years'  standing. 

To  argue  that  we  thus  repudiated  the  Missouri 
Compromise  is  no  less  absurd  than  it  would  be  to 
argue  that  because  we  have  so  far  forborne  to  ac- 
quire Cuba,  we  have  thereby,  in  principle,  repudi- 
ated our  former  acquisitions  and  determined  to 
throw  them  out  of  the  Union.  No  less  absurd 
than  it  would  be  to  say  that,  because  I  may  have 
refused  to  build  an  addition  to  my  house,  I  thereby 
have  decided  to  destroy  the  existing  house!  And 
if  I  catch  you  setting  fire  to  my  house,  you  will 
turn  upon  me  and  say  I  instructed  you  to  do  it! 

The  most  conclusive  argument,  however,  that 
while  for  the  Wilmot  Proviso,  and  while  voting 
against   the  extension   of   the  Missouri   line,    we 

188 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

never  thought  of  disturbing  the  original  Missouri 
Compromise,  is  found  in  the  fact  that  there  was 
then,  and  still  is,  an  unorganized  tract  of  fine  coun- 
try, nearly  as  large  as  the  State  of  Missouri,  lying 
immediately  west  of  Arkansas  and  south  of  the 
Missouri  Compromise  line,  and  that  we  never  at- 
tempted to  prohibit  slavery  as  to  it.  I  wish  par- 
ticular attention  to  this.  It  adjoins  the  original 
Missouri  Compromise  line  by  its  northern  boun- 
dary, and  consequently  is  part  of  the  country  into 
which  by  implication  slavery  was  permitted  to  go 
by  that  compromise.  There  it  has  lain  open  ever 
since,  and  there  it  still  lies,  and  yet  no  effort  has 
been  made  at  any  time  to  wrest  it  from  the  South. 
In  all  our  struggles  to  prohibit  slavery  within  our 
Mexican  acquisitions,  we  never  so  much  as  lifted 
a  finger  to  prohibit  it  as  to  this  tract.  Is  not  this 
entirely  conclusive  that  at  all  times  we  have  held 
the  Missouri  Compromise  as  a  sacred  thing,  even 
when  against  ourselves  as  well  as  when  for  us? 

Senator  Douglas  sometimes  says  the  Missouri 
line  itself  was  in  principle  only  an  extension  of  the 
line  of  the  Ordinance  of  '87 — that  is  to  say,  an 
extension  of  the  Ohio  River.  I  think  this  is  weak 
enough  on  its  face.  I  will  remark,  however,  that, 
as  a  glance  at  the  map  will  show,  the  Missouri  line 
is  a  long  way  farther  south  than  the  Ohio,  and 

189 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

that  if  our  Senator  in  proposing  his  extension  had 
stuck  to  the  principle  of  jogging  southward,  per- 
haps it  might  not  have  been  voted  down  so  readily. 

But  next  it  is  said  that  the  compromises  of  '50, 
and  the  ratification  of  them  by  both  political  par- 
ties in  '52,  established  a  new  principle  which  re- 
quired the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise. 
This  again  I  deny.  I  deny  it,  and  demand  the 
proof.  I  have  already  stated  fully  what  the  com- 
promises of  '50  are.  That  particular  part  of  those 
measures  from  which  the  virtual  repeal  of  the  Mis- 
souri Compromise  is  sought  to  be  inferred  (for  it 
is  admitted  they  contain  nothing  about  it  in  ex- 
press terms)  is  the  provision  in  the  Utah  and  New 
Mexico  laws  which  permits  them  when  they  seek 
admission  into  the  Union  as  States  to  come  in 
with  or  without  slavery,  as  they  shall  then  see  fit. 
Now  I  insist  this  provision  was  made  for  Utah 
and  New  Mexico,  and  for  no  other  place  what- 
ever. It  had  no  more  direct  reference  to  Nebraska 
than  it  had  to  the  territories  of  the  moon.  But, 
say  they,  it  had  reference  to  Nebraska  in  principle. 
Let  us  see.  The  North  consented  to  this  pro- 
vision, not  because  they  considered  it  right  in  it- 
self, but  because  they  were  compensated — paid  for 
it. 

They  at  the  same  time  got  California  into  the 
Union  as  a  free  State.    This  was  far  the  best  part 

190 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


of  all  they  had  struggled  for  by  the  Wilmot  Pro- 
viso. They  also  got  the  area  of  slavery  somewhat 
narrowed  in  the  settlement  of  the  boundary  of 
Texas.  Also  they  got  the  slave-trade  abolished 
in  the  District  of  Columbia. 

For  all  these  desirable  objects  the  North  could 
afford  to  yield  something;  and  they  did  yield  to 
the  South  the  Utah  and  New  Mexico  provision. 
I  do  not  mean  that  the  whole  North,  or  even  a 
majority,  yielded,  when  the  law  passed;  but 
enough  yielded,  when  added  to  the  vote  of  the 
South,  to  carry  the  measure.  Nor  can  it  be  pre- 
tended that  the  principle  of  this  arrangement  re- 
quires us  to  permit  the  same  provision  to  be  ap- 
plied to  Nebraska,  without  any  equivalent  at  all. 
Give  us  another  free  State;  press  the  boundary  of 
Texas  still  farther  back;  give  us  another  step  to- 
ward the  destruction  of  slavery  in  the  District,  and 
you  present  us  a  similar  case.  But  ask  us  not  to 
repeat,  for  nothing,  what  you  paid  for  in  the  first 
instance.  If  you  wish  the  thing  again,  pay  again. 
That  is  the  principle  of  the  compromises  of  '50, 
if,  indeed,  they  had  any  principles  beyond  their 
specific  terms — it  was  the  system  of  equivalents. 

Again,  if  Congress,  at  that  time,  intended  that 
all  future  Territories  should,  when  admitted  as 
States,  come  in  with  or  without  slavery  at  their 

191 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

own  option,  why  did  it  not  say  so?  With  such  a 
universal  provision,  all  know  the  bills  could  not 
have  passed.  Did  they,  then — could  they — estab- 
lish a  principle  contrary  to  their  own  intention? 
Still  further,  if  they  intended  to  establish  the  prin- 
ciple that,  whenever  Congress  had  control,  it 
should  be  left  to  the  people  to  do  as  they  thought 
fit  with  slavery,  why  did  they  not  authorize  the 
people  of  the  District  of  Columbia,  at  their  option, 
to  abolish  slavery  within  their  limits? 

I  personally  know  that  this  has  not  been  left 
undone  because  it  was  unthought  of.  It  was  fre- 
quently spoken  of  by  members  of  Congress,  and 
by  citizens  of  Washington,  six  years  ago;  and  I 
heard  no  one  express  a  doubt  that  a  system  of 
gradual  emancipation,  with  compensation  to  own- 
ers, would  meet  the  approbation  of  a  large  major- 
ity of  the  white  people  of  the  District.  But  with- 
out the  action  of  Congress  they  could  say  nothing; 
and  Congress  said  "No."  In  the  measures  of  1850, 
Congress  had  the  subject  of  slavery  in  the  District 
expressly  on  hand.  If  they  were  then  establishing 
the  principle  of  allowing  the  people  to  do  as  they 
please  with  slavery,  why  did  they  not  apply  the 
principle  to  that  people? 

Again,  it  is  claimed  that  by  the  resolutions  of 
the  Illinois  Legislature,  passed  in  1851,  the  repeal 

192 


ABRAHAM.     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


of  the  Missouri  Compromise  was  demanded.  This 
I  deny  also.  Whatever  may  be  worked  out  by  a 
criticism  of  the  language  of  those  resolutions,  the 
people  have  never  understood  them  as  being  any 
more  than  an  indorsement  of  the  compromises  of 
1850,  and  a  release  of  our  senators  from  voting  for 
the  Wilmot  Proviso.  The  whole  people  are  liv- 
ing witnesses  that  this  only  was  their  view.  Fi- 
nally, it  is  asked,  "If  we  did  not  mean  to  apply  the 
Utah  and  New  Mexico  provision  to  all  future 
Territories,  what  did  we  mean  when  we,  in  1852, 
indorsed  the  compromises  of  1850?" 

For  myself  I  can  answer  this  question  most  eas- 
ily. I  meant  not  to  ask  a  repeal  or  modification  of 
the  fugitive  slave  law.  I  meant  not  to  ask  for  the 
abolition  of  slavery  in  the  District  of  Columbia.  I 
meant  not  to  resist  the  admission  of  Utah  and  New 
Mexico,  even  should  they  ask  to  come  in  as  slave 
States.  I  meant  nothing  about  additional  Terri- 
tories, because,  as  I  understood,  we  then  had  no 
Territory  whose  character  as  to  slavery  was  not 
already  settled.  As  to  Nebraska,  I  regarded  its 
character  as  being  fixed  by  the  Missouri  Compro- 
mise for  thirty  years — as  unalterably  fixed  as  that 
of  my  own  home  in  Illinois.  As  to  new  acquisi- 
tions, I  said,  "Sufficient  unto  the  day  is  the  evil 
thereof."  When  we  make  new  acquisitions,  we 
is  193 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

will,  as  heretofore,  try  to  manage  them  somehow. 
That  is  my  answer;  that  is  what  I  meant  and 
said;  and  I  appeal  to  the  people  to  say  each  for 
himself  whether  that  is  not  also  the  universal 
meaning  of  the  free  States. 

Illinois  Daily  Journal,  October  24,  1854: 

And  now,  in  turn,  let  me  ask  a  few  questions. 
If,  by  any  or  all  these  matters,  the  repeal  of  the 
Missouri  Compromise  was  commanded,  why  was 
not  the  command  sooner  obeyed?  Why  was  the 
repeal  omitted  in  the  Nebraska  Bill  of  1853?  Why 
was  it  omitted  in  the  original  bill  of  1854?  Why 
in  the  accompanying  report  was  such  a  repeal 
characterized  as  a  departure  from  the  course  pur- 
sued in  1850  and  its  continued  omission  recom- 
mended? 

I  am  aware  Judge  Douglas  now  argues  that  the 
subsequent  express  repeal  is  no  substantial  altera- 
tion of  the  bill.  This  argument  seems  wonderful 
to  me.  It  is  as  if  one  should  argue  that  white 
and  black  are  not  different.  He  admits,  however, 
that  there  is  a  literal  change  in  the  bill,  and  that 
he  made  the  change  in  deference  to  other  senators 
who  would  not  support  the  bill  without.  This 
proves  that  those  other  senators  thought  the 
change   a    substantial   one,    and    that    the   Judge 

194 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

thought  their  opinions  worth  deferring  to.  His 
own  opinions,  therefore,  seem  not  to  rest  on  a  very- 
firm  basis,  even  in  his  own  mind;  and  I  suppose 
the  world  believes,  and  will  continue  to  believe, 
that  precisely  on  the  substance  of  that  change  this 
whole  agitation  has  arisen. 

I  conclude,  then,  that  the  public  never  demand- 
ed the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise. 

I  now  come  to  consider  whether  the  appeal, 
with  its  avowed  principles,  is  intrinsically  right. 
I  insist  that  it  is  not.  Take  the  particular  case. 
A  controversy  had  arisen  between  the  advocates 
and  opponents  of  slavery,  in  relation  to  its  estab- 
lishment within  the  country  we  had  purchased  of 
France.  The  southern,  and  then  best,  part  of  the 
purchase  was  already  in  as  a  slave  State.  The 
controversy  was  settled  by  also  letting  Missouri 
in  as  a  slave  State;  but  with  the  agreement  that 
within  all  the  remaining  part  of  the  purchase, 
north  of  a  certain  line,  there  should  never  be  slav- 
ery. As  to  what  was  to  be  done  with  the  remain- 
ing part,  south  of  the  line,  nothing  was  said;  but 
perhaps  the  fair  implication  was,  it  should  come  in 
with  slavery  if  it  should  so  choose.  The  southern 
part,  except  a  portion  heretofore  mentioned,  after- 
ward did  come  in  with  slavery,  as  the  State  of 
Arkansas.     All  these  many  years,  since  1820,  the 

195 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

northern  part  had  remained  a  wilderness.  At 
length  settlements  began  in  it  also.  In  due  course 
Iowa  came  in  as  a  free  State,  and  Minnesota  was 
given  a  territorial  government,  without  removing 
the  slavery  restriction.  Finally,  the  sole  remain- 
ing part  north  of  the  line — Kansas  and  Nebraska 
— was  to  be  organized;  and  it  is  proposed,  and 
carried,  to  blot  out  the  old  dividing  line  of  thirty- 
four  years'  standing,  and  to  open  the  whole  of 
that  country  to  the  introduction  of  slavery.  Now 
this,  to  my  mind,  is  manifestly  unjust.  After  an 
angry  and  dangerous  controversy,  the  parties  made 
friends  by  dividing  the  bone  of  contention.  The 
one  party  first  appropriates  her  own  share,  beyond 
all  power  to  be  disturbed  in  the  possession  of  it, 
and  then  seizes  the  share  of  the  other  party.  It  is 
as  if  two  starving  men  had  divided  their  only  loaf, 
the  one  had  hastily  swallowed  his  half,  and  then 
grabbed  the  other's  half  just  as  he  was  putting  it 
to  his  mouth. 

Let  me  here  drop  the  main  argument,  to  notice 
what  I  consider  rather  an  inferior  matter.  It  is 
argued  that  slavery  will  not  go  to  Kansas  and 
Nebraska,  in  any  event.  This  is  a  palliation,  a 
lullaby.  I  have  some  hope  that  it  will  not;  but 
let  us  not  be  too  confident.  As  to  climate,  a 
glance  at  the  map  shows  that  there  are  five  slave 

196 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


States — Delaware,  Maryland,  Virginia,  Kentucky 
and  Missouri,  and  also  the  District  of  Columbia, 
all  north  of  the  Missouri  Compromise  line.  The 
census  returns  of  1850  show  that  within  these 
there  are  eight  hundred  and  sixty-seven  thousand 
two  hundred  and  seventy-six  slaves,  being  more 
than  one-fourth  of  all  the  slaves  in  the  nation. 

It  is  not  climate,  then,  that  will  keep  slavery 
out  of  these  Territories.  Is  there  anything  in  the 
peculiar  nature  of  the  country?  Missouri  adjoins 
these  Territories  by  her  entire  western  boundary, 
and  slavery  is  already  within  every  one  of  her 
western  counties.  I  have  even  heard  it  said  that 
there  are  more  slaves  in  proportion  to  whites  in 
the  northwestern  county  of  Missouri  than  within 
any  other  county  in  the  State.  Slavery  pressed 
entirely  up  to  the  old  western  boundary  of  the 
State,  and  when  rather  recently  a  part  of  that 
boundary  at  the  northwest  was  moved  out  a  little 
farther  west,  slavery  followed  on  quite  up  to  the 
new  line.  Now,  when  the  restriction  is  removed, 
what  is  to  prevent  it  from  going  still  farther? 
Climate  will  not;  no  peculiarity  of  the  country 
will;  nothing  in  nature  will.  Will  the  disposition 
of  the  people  prevent  it?  Those  nearest  the  scene 
are  all  in  favor  of  the  extension.  The  Yankees 
who  are  opposed  to  it  may  be  most  numerous; 

197 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

but,  in  military  phrase,  the  battlefield  is  too  far 
from  their  base  of  operations. 

But  it  is  said  there  now  is  no  law  in  Nebraska 
on  the  subject  of  slavery,  and  that,  in  such  case, 
taking  a  slave  there  operates  his  freedom.  That 
is  good  book-law,  but  it  is  not  the  rule  of  actual 
practice.  Wherever  slavery  is,  it  has  been  first  in- 
troduced without  law.  The  oldest  laws  we  find 
concerning  it  are  not  laws  introducing  it,  hut  regu- 
lating it  as  an  already  existing  thing.  A  white 
man  takes  his  slave  to  Nebraska  now.  Who  will 
inform  the  negro  that  he  is  free?  Who  will  take 
him  before  court  to  test  the  question  of  his  free- 
dom? In  ignorance  of  his  legal  emancipation  he 
is  kept  chopping,  splitting,  and  plowing.  Others 
are  brought,  and  move  on  in  the  same  track.  At 
last,  if  ever  the  time  for  voting  comes  on  the  ques- 
tion of  slavery,  the  institution  already,  in  fact, 
exists  in  the  country,  and  cannot  well  be  removed. 
The  fact  of  its  presence,  and  the  difficulty  of  its 
removal,  will  carry  the  vote  in  its  favor.  Keep  it 
out  until  a  vote  is  taken,  and  a  vote  in  favor  of  it 
cannot  be  got  in  any  population  of  forty  thousand 
on  earth,  who  have  been  drawn  together  by  the 
ordinary  motives  of  emigration  and  settlement.  To 
get  slaves  into  the  Territory  simultaneously  with 
the  whites  in  the  incipient  stages  of  settlement  is 

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ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


the  precise  stake  played  for  and  won  in  this  Ne- 
braska measure. 

The  question  is  asked  us:  "If  slaves  will  go  in 
notwithstanding  the  general  principle  of  law  lib- 
erates them,  why  would  they  not  equally  go  in 
against  positive  statute  law — go  in,  even  if  the 
Missouri  restriction  were  maintained?"  I  answer, 
because  it  takes  a  much  bolder  man  to  venture  in 
with  his  property  in  the  latter  case  than  in  the  for- 
mer; because  the  positive  Congressional  enactment 
is  known  to  and  respected  by  all,  or  nearly  all, 
whereas  the  negative  principle  that  no  law  is  free 
law  is  not  much  known  except  among  lawyers. 
We  have  some  experience  of  this  practical  differ- 
ence. In  spite  of  the  Ordinance  of  '87,  a  few 
negroes  were  brought  into  Illinois  and  held  in  a 
state  of  quasi-slavery,  not  enough,  however,  to 
carry  a  vote  of  the  people  in  favor  of  the  institu- 
tion when  they  came  to  form  a  constitution.  But 
into  the  adjoining  Missouri  country,  where  there 
was  no  Ordinance  of  '87 — was  no  restriction — 
they  were  carried  ten  times,  nay,  a  hundred  times, 
as  fast,  and  actually  made  a  slave  State.  This  is 
fact — naked  fact. 

Another  lullaby  argument  is  that  taking  slaves 
to  new  countries  does  not  increase  their  number, 
does  not  make  any  one  slave  who  would  otherwise 

199 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


be  free.  There  is  some  truth  in  this,  and  I  am  glad 
of  it;  but  it  is  not  wholly  true.  The  African  slave- 
trade  is  not  yet  effectually  suppressed;  and,  if  we 
make  a  reasonable  deduction  for  the  white  people 
among  us  who  are  foreigners  and  the  descendants 
of  foreigners  arriving  here  since  1 808,  we  shall  find 
the  increase  of  the  black  population  outrunning 
that  of  the  white  to  an  extent  unaccountable,  ex- 
cept by  supposing  that  some  of  them,  too,  have 
been  coming  from  Africa.  If  this  be  so,  the  open- 
ing of  new  countries  to  the  institution  increases  the 
demand  for  and  augments  the  price  of  slaves,  and 
so  does,  in  fact,  make  slaves  of  freemen,  by  caus- 
ing them  to  be  brought  from  Africa  and  sold  into 
bondage. 

But  however  this  may  be,  we  know  the  opening 
of  new  countries  to  slavery  tends  to  the  perpetua- 
tion of  the  institution,  and  so  does  keep  men  in 
slavery  who  would  otherwise  be  free.  This  result 
we  do  not  feel  like  favoring,  and  we  are  under  no 
legal  obligation  to  suppress  our  feelings  in  this 
respect. 

Equal  justice  to  the  South,  it  is  said,  requires 
us  to  consent  to  the  extension  of  slavery  to  new 
countries.  That  is  to  say,  inasmuch  as  you  do 
not  object  to  my  taking  my  hog  to  Nebraska, 
therefore  I  must  not  object  to  your  taking  your 

200 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


slave.  Now,  I  admit  that  this  is  perfectly  logical 
if  there  is  no  difference  between  hogs  and  negroes. 
But  while  you  thus  require  me  to  deny  the  human- 
ity of  the  negro,  I  wish  to  ask  whether  you  of  the 
South,  yourselves,  have  ever  been  willing  to  do  as 
much?  It  is  kindly  provided  that  of  all  those  who 
come  into  the  world  only  a  small  percentage  are 
natural  tyrants.  That  percentage  is  no  larger  in 
the  slave  States  than  in  the  free.  The  great  major- 
ity South,  as  well  as  North,  have  human  sympa- 
thies, of  which  they  can  no  more  divest  themselves 
than  they  can  of  their  sensibility  to  physical  pain. 
These  sympathies  in  the  bosoms  of  the  Southern 
people  manifest,  in  many  ways,  their  sense  of  the 
wrong  of  slavery,  and  their  consciousness  that, 
after  all,  there  is  humanity  in  the  negro.  If  they 
deny  this,  let  me  address  them  a  few  plain  ques- 
tions. In  1820  you  joined  the  North,  almost 
unanimously,  in  declaring  the  African  slave-trade 
piracy,  and  in  annexing  to  it  the  punishment  of 
death.  Why  did  you  do  this?  If  you  did  not  feel 
that  it  was  wrong,  why  did  you  join  in  pro- 
viding that  men  should  be  hung  for  it?  The  prac- 
tice was  no  more  than  bringing  wild  negroes  from 
Africa  to  such  as  would  buy  them.  But  you  never 
thought  of  hanging  men  for  catching  and  selling 
wild  horses,  wild  buffalos,  or  wild  bears. 

201 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


Again,  you  have  among  you  a  sneaking  individ- 
ual of  the  class  of  native  tyrants  known  as  the 
"slave-dealer."  He  watches  your  necessities,  and 
crawls  up  to  buy  your  slave,  at  a  speculating  price. 
If  you  cannot  help  it,  you  sell  to  him;  but  if  you 
can  help  it,  you  drive  him  from  your  door.  You 
despise  him  utterly.  You  do  not  recognize  him 
as  a  friend,  or  even  as  an  honest  man.  Your 
children  must  not  play  with  his;  they  may  rollick 
freely  with  the  little  negroes,  but  not  with  the 
slave-dealer's  children.  If  you  are  obliged  to  deal 
with  him,  you  try  to  get  through  the  job  without 
so  much  as  touching  him.  It  is  common  with  you 
to  join  hands  with  the  men  you  meet,  but  with 
the  slave-dealer  you  avoid  the  ceremony — instinc- 
tively shrinking  from  the  snaky  contact.  If  he 
grows  rich  and  retires  from  business,  you  still  re- 
member him,  and  still  keep  up  the  ban  of  non- 
intercourse  upon  him  and  his  family.  Now,  why 
is  this?  You  do  not  so  treat  the  man  who  deals 
in  corn,  cotton,  or  tobacco. 

And  yet  again:  There  are  in  the  United  States 
and  Territories,  including  the  District  of  Colum- 
bia, 433,643  free  blacks.  At  five  hundred  dollars 
per  head  they  are  worth  over  two  hundred  millions 
of  dollars.  How  comes  this  vast  amount  of  prop- 
erty, to  be  running  about  without  owners?     We 

202 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


do  not  see  free  horses  or  free  cattle  running  at 
large.  How  is  this?  All  these  free  blacks  are  the 
descendants  of  slaves,  or  have  been  slaves  them- 
selves; and  they  would  be  slaves  now  but  for 
something  which  has  operated  on  their  white  own- 
ers, inducing  them  at  vast  pecuniary  sacrifice  to 
liberate  them.  What  is  that  something?  Is  there 
any  mistaking  it?  In  all  these  cases  it  is  your 
sense  of  justice  and  human  sympathy  continually 
telling  you  that  the  poor  negro  has  some  natural 
right  to  himself — that  those  who  deny  it  and 
make  mere  merchandise  of  him  deserve  kickings, 
contempt,  and  death. 

And  now  why  will  you  ask  us  to  deny  the 
humanity  of  the  slave,  and  estimate  him  as  only 
the  equal  of  the  hog?  Why  ask  us  to  do  what 
you  will  not  do  yourselves?  Why  ask  us  to  do 
for  nothing  what  two  hundred  millions  of  dollars 
could  not  induce  you  to  do? 

But  one  great  argument  in  support  of  the  re- 
peal of  the  Missouri  Compromise  is  still  to  come. 
That  argument  is  "the  sacred  right  of  self-govern- 
ment." It  seems  our  distinguished  Senator  has 
found  great  difficulty  in  getting  his  antagonists, 
even  in  the  Senate,  to  meet  him  fairly  on  this 
argument.     Some  poet  has  said: 

"Fools  rush  in  where  angels  fear  to  tread." 

203 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


At  the  hazard  of  being  thought  one  of  the  fools 
of  this  quotation,  I  meet  that  argument — I  rush 
in — I  take  that  bull  by  the  horns.  I  trust  I  under- 
stand and  truly  estimate  the  right  of  self-govern- 
ment. My  faith  in  the  proposition  that  each  man 
should  do  precisely  as  he  pleases  with  all  which  is 
exclusively  his  own  lies  at  the  foundation  of  the 
sense  of  justice  there  is  in  me.  I  extend  the  prin- 
ciple to  communities  of  men  as  well  as  to  individ- 
uals. I  so  extend  it  because  it  is  politically  wise, 
as  well  as  naturally  just;  politically  wise  in  saving 
us  from  broils  about  matters  which  do  not  concern 
us.  Here,  or  at  Washington,  I  would  not  trouble 
myself  with  the  oyster  laws  of  Virginia,  or  the 
cranberry  laws  of  Indiana.  The  doctrine  of  self- 
government  is  right — absolutely  and  eternally 
right — but  it  has  no  just  application  as  here  at- 
tempted. Or  perhaps  I  should  rather  say  that 
whether  it  has  such  application  depends  upon 
whether  a  negro  is  or  is  not  a  man.  If  he  is  not  a 
man,  in  that  case  he  who  is  a  man  may  as  a  matter 
of  self-government  do  just  what  he  pleases  with 
him.  But  if  the  negro  is  a  man,  is  it  not  to  that  ex- 
tent a  total  destruction  of  self-government  to  say 
that  he  too  shall  not  govern  himself?  When  the 
white  man  governs  himself,  that  is  self-govern- 
ment; but  when  he  governs  himself  and  also  gov- 

204 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


cms  another  man,  that  is  more  than  self-govern- 
ment— that  is  despotism.  If  the  negro  is  a  man, 
why,  then,  my  ancient  faith  teaches  me  that  "all 
men  are  created  equal,"  and  that  there  can  be  no 
moral  right  in  connection  with  one  man's  making 
a  slave  of  another. 

Judge  Douglas  frequently,  with  bitter  irony 
and  sarcasm,  paraphrases  our  argument  by  saying: 
"The  white  people  of  Nebraska  are  good  enough 
to  govern  themselves,  but  they  are  not  good 
enough  to  govern  a  few  miserable  negroes!" 

Well,  I  doubt  not  that  the  people  of  Nebraska 
are  and  will  continue  to  be  as  good  as  the  average 
of  people  elsewhere.  I  do  not  say  the  contrary. 
What  I  do  say  is  that  no  man  is  good  enough 
to  govern  another  man  without  that  other's  con- 
sent. I  say  this  is  the  leading  principle,  the  sheet- 
anchor  of  American  republicanism.  Our  Declara- 
tion of  Independence  says: 

"We  hold  these  truths  to  be  self-evident:  That 
all  men  are  created  equal:  that  they  are  endowed 
by  their  Creator  with  certain  inalienable  rights; 
that  among  these  are  life,  liberty,  and  the  pursuit 
of  happiness.  That  to  secure  these  rights,  govern- 
ments are  instituted  among  men,  DERIVING  THEIR 
JUST  POWERS  FROM  THE  CONSENT  OF  THE  GOV- 
ERNED." 

205 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


I  have  quoted  so  much  at  this  time  merely  to 
show  that,  according  to  our  ancient  faith,  the  just 
powers  of  government  are  derived  from  the  con- 
sent of  the  governed.  Now  the  relation  of  master 
and  slave  is,  pro  tanto,  a  total  violation  of  this 
principle.  The  master  not  only  governs  the  slave 
without  his  consent,  but  he  governs  him  by  a  set 
of  rules  altogether  different  from  those  which  he 
prescribes  for  himself.  Allow  all  the  governed  an 
equal  voice  in  the  government,  and  that,  and  that 
only,  is  self-government. 

Let  it  not  be  said  that  I  am  contending  for  the 
establishment  of  political  and  social  equality  be- 
tween the  whites  and  blacks.  I  have  already  said 
the  contrary.  I  am  not  combating  the  argument 
of  necessity,  arising  from  the  fact  that  the  blacks 
are  already  among  us;  but  I  am  combating  what 
is  set  up  as  moral  argument  for  allowing  them  to 
be  taken  where  they  have  never  yet  been — arguing 
against  the  extension  of  a  bad  thing,  which,  where 
it  already  exists,  we  must  of  necessity  manage  as 
we  best  can. 

In  support  of  his  application  of  the  doctrine  of 
self-government,  Senator  Douglas  has  sought  to 
bring  to  his  aid  the  opinions  and  examples  of  our 
Revolutionary  fathers.  I  am  glad  he  has  done 
this.     I  love  the  sentiments  of  those  old-time  men, 

206 


ABRAHAM,     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


and  shall  be  most  happy  to  abide  by  their  opin- 
ions. He  shows  us  that  when  it  was  in  contem- 
plation for  the  colonies  to  break  off  from  Great 
Britain,  and  set  up  a  new  government  for  them- 
selves, several  of  the  States  instructed  their  dele- 
gates to  go  for  the  measure,  provided  each  State 
should  be  allowed  to  regulate  its  domestic  con- 
cerns in  its  own  way.  I  do  not  quote;  but  this  in 
substance.  This  was  right;  I  see  nothing  objec- 
tionable in  it.  I  also  think  it  probable  that  it 
had  some  reference  to  the  existence  of  slavery 
among  them.  I  will  not  deny  that  it  had.  But 
had  it  any  reference  to  the  carrying  of  slavery  into 
new  countries?  That  is  the  question,  and  we  will 
let  the  fathers  themselves  answer  it. 

Illinois  Daily  Journal,  October  25,  1854: 

This  same  generation  of  men,  and  mostly  the 
same  individuals  of  the  generation  who  declared 
this  principle,  who  declared  independence,  who 
fought  the  war  of  the  Revolution  through,  who 
afterward  made  the  Constitution  under  which  we 
still  live — these  same  men  passed  the  Ordinance  of 
'87,  declaring  that  slavery  should  never  go  to  the 
Northwest  Territory.  I  have  no  doubt  Judge 
Douglas  thinks  they  were  very  inconsistent  in  this. 
It  is  a  question  of  discrimination  between  them 

207 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


and  him.  But  there  is  not  an  inch  of  ground  left 
for  his  claiming  that  their  opinions,  their  exam- 
ple, their  authority,  are  on  his  side  in  the  con- 
troversy. 

Again,  is  not  Nebraska,  while  a  Territory,  a 
part  of  us?  Do  we  not  own  the  country?  And 
if  we  surrender  the  control  of  it,  do  we  not  sur- 
render the  right  of  self-government?  It  is  part  of 
ourselves.  If  you  say  we  shall  not  control  it,  be- 
cause it  is  only  part,  the  same  is  true  of  every 
other  part;  and  when  all  the  parts  are  gone,  what 
has  become  of  the  whole?  What  is  then  left  of 
us?  What  use  for  the  General  Government,  when 
there  is  nothing  left  for  it  to  govern? 

But  you  say  this  question  should  be  left  to  the 
people  of  Nebraska,  because  they  are  more  particu- 
larly interested.  If  this  be  the  rule,  you  must 
leave  it  to  each  individual  to  say  for  himself 
whether  he  will  have  slaves.  What  better  moral 
right  have  thirty-one  citizens  of  Nebraska  to  say 
that  the  thirty-second  shall  not  hold  slaves  than 
the  people  of  the  thirty-one  States  have  to  say  that 
slavery  shall  not  go  into  the  thirty-second  State 
at  all? 

But  if  it  is  a  sacred  right  for  the  people  of  Ne- 
braska to  take  and  hold  slaves  there,  it  is  equally 
their  sacred  right  to  buy  them  where  they  can  buy 

208 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


them  cheapest;  and  that,  undoubtedly,  will  be  on 
the  coast  of  Africa,  provided  you  will  consent  not 
to  hang  them  for  going  there  to  buy  them.  You 
must  remove  this  restriction,  too,  from  the  sacred 
right  of  self-government.  I  am  aware  you  say 
that  taking  slaves  from  the  State  of  Nebraska  does 
not  make  slaves  of  freemen;  but  the  African  slave- 
trader  can  say  just  as  much.  He  does  not  catch 
free  negroes  and  bring  them  here.  He  finds  them 
already  slaves  in  the  hands  of  their  black  captors, 
and  he  honestly  buys  them  at  the  rate  of  a  red 
cotton  handkerchief  a  head.  This  is  very  cheap, 
and  it  is  a  great  abridgment  of  the  sacred  right  of 
self-government  to  hang  men  for  engaging  in  this 
profitable  trade. 

Another  important  objection  to  this  applica- 
tion of  the  right  of  self-government  is  that  it 
enables  the  first  few  to  deprive  the  succeeding  many 
of  a  free  exercise  of  the  right  of  self-government. 
The  first  few  may  get  slavery  in,  and  the  subse- 
quent many  cannot  easily  get  it  out.  How  com- 
mon is  the  remark  now  in  the  slave  States,  "If 
we  were  only  clear  of  our  slaves,  how  much  better 
it  would  be  for  us."  They  are  actually  deprived 
of  the  privilege  of  governing  themselves  as  they 
would,  by  the  action  of  a  very  few  in  the  begin- 
14  209 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


ning.     The  same  thing  was  true  of  the  whole  na- 
tion at  the  time  our  Constitution  was  formed. 

Whether  slavery  shall  go  into  Nebraska,  or 
other  new  Territories,  is  not  a  matter  of  exclusive 
concern  to  the  people  who  may  go  there.  The 
whole  nation  is  interested  that  the  best  use  shall  be 
made  of  these  Territories.  We  want  them  for 
homes  of  free  white  people.  This  they  cannot  be, 
to  any  considerable  extent,  if  slavery  shall  be 
planted  within  them.  Slave  States  are  places  for 
poor  white  people  to  remove  from,  not  to  remove 
to.  New  free  States  are  the  places  for  poor  people 
to  go  to,  and  better  their  condition.  For  this  use 
the  nation  needs  these  Territories. 

Still  further:  there  are  constitutional  relations 
between  the  slave  and  free  States  which  are  degrad- 
ing to  the  latter.  We  are  under  legal  obligations 
to  catch  and  return  their  runaway  slaves  to  them; 
a  sort  of  dirty,  disagreeable  job,  which,  I  believe, 
as  a  general  rule,  the  slaveholders  will  not  perform 
for  one  another.  Then  again,  in  the  control  of 
the  government — the  management  of  the  partner- 
ship affairs — they  have  greatly  the  advantage  of 
us.  By  the  Constitution  each  State  has  two  sena- 
tors, each  has  a  number  of  representatives  in  pro- 
portion to  the  number  of  its  people,  and  each  has 
a   number  of  Presidential   electors   equal   to   the 

210 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

whole  number  of  its  senators  and  representatives 
together.  But  in  ascertaining  the  number  of  the 
people  for  this  purpose,  five  slaves  are  counted  as 
being  equal  to  three  whites.  The  slaves  do  not 
vote;  they  are  only  counted  and  so  used  as  to 
swell  the  influence  of  the  white  people's  votes. 
The  practical  effect  of  this  is  more  aptly  shown  by 
a  comparison  of  the  States  of  South  Carolina 
and  Maine.  South  Carolina  has  six  representa- 
tives, and  so  has  Maine;  South  Carolina  has  eight 
Presidential  electors,  and  so  has  Maine.  This 
is  precise  equality  so  far;  and  of  course  they  are 
equal  in  senators,  each  having  two.  Thus  in 
the  control  of  the  government  the  two  States  are 
equals  precisely.  But  how  are  they  in  the  num- 
ber of  their  white  people?  Maine  has  581,813, 
while  South  Carolina  has  274,567;  Maine  has 
twice  as  many  as  South  Carolina,  and  32,679 
over.  Thus,  each  white  man  in  South  Caro- 
lina is  more  than  the  double  of  any  man  in  Maine. 
This  is  all  because  South  Carolina,  besides  her 
free  people,  has  384,984  slaves.  The  South 
Carolinian  has  precisely  the  same  advantage  over 
the  white  man  in  every  other  free  State  as  well  as 
in  Maine.  He  is  more  than  the  double  of  any  one 
of  us  in  this  crowd.  The  same  advantage,  but  not 
to  the  same  extent,  is  held  by  all  the  citizens  of  the 

211 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


slave  States  over  those  of  the  free;  and  it  is  an 
absolute  truth,  without  an  exception,  that  there  is 
no  voter  in  any  slave  State  but  who  has  more  legal 
power  in  the  government  than  any  voter  in  any 
free  State.  There  is  no  instance  of  exact  equality; 
and  the  disadvantage  is  against  us  the  whole  chap- 
ter through.  This  principle,  in  the  aggregate, 
gives  the  slave  States  in  the  present  Congress  twen- 
ty additional  representatives,  being  seven  more 
than  the  whole  majority  by  which  they  passed  the 
Nebraska  Bill. 

Now  all  this  is  manifestly  unfair;  yet  I  do  not 
mention  it  to  complain  of  it,  in  so  far  as  it  is 
already  settled.  It  is  in  the  Constitution,  and  I  do 
not  for  that  cause,  or  any  other  cause,  propose  to 
destroy,  or  alter,  or  disregard  the  Constitution.  I 
stand  to  it,  fairly,  fully,  and  firmly. 

But  when  I  am  told  I  must  leave  it  altogether 
to  other  people  to  say  whether  new  partners  are 
to  be  bred  up  and  brought  into  the  firm,  on  the 
same  degrading  terms  against  me,  I  respectfully 
demur.  I  insist  that  whether  I  shall  be  a  whole 
man  or  only  the  half  of  one,  in  comparison  with 
others,  is  a  question  in  which  I  am  somewhat  con- 
cerned, and  one  which  no  other  man  can  have  a 
sacred  right  of  deciding  for  me.     If  I  am  wrong 

212 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


in  this,  if  it  really  be  a  sacred  right  of  self-govern- 
ment in  the  man  who  shall  go  to  Nebraska  to  de- 
cide whether  he  will  be  the  equal  of  me  or  the 
double  of  me,  then,  after  he  shall  have  exercised 
that  right,  and  thereby  shall  have  reduced  me  to  a 
still  smaller  fraction  of  a  man  than  I  already  am, 
I  should  like  for  some  gentleman,  deeply  skilled  in 
the  mysteries  of  sacred  rights,  to  provide  himself 
with  a  microscope,  and  peep  about,  and  find  out, 
if  he  can,  what  has  become  of  my  sacred  rights. 
They  will  surely  be  too  small  for  detection  with 
the  naked  eye. 

Finally,  I  insist  that  if  there  is  anything  which 
it  is  the  duty  of  the  whole  people  to  never  in- 
trust to  any  hands  but  their  own,  that  thing  is  the 
preservation  and  perpetuity  of  their  own  liberties 
and  institutions.  And  if  they  shall  think,  as  I  do, 
that  the  extension  of  slavery  endangers  them  more 
than  any  or  all  other  causes,  how  recreant  to 
themselves  if  they  submit  the  question,  and  with 
it  the  fate  of  their  country,  to  a  mere  handful  of 
men  bent  only  on  self-interest!  If  this  question 
of  slavery  extension  were  an  insignificant  one — 
one  having  no  power  to  do  harm — it  might  be 
shuffled  aside  in  this  way;  and  being,  as  it  is,  the 
great  Behemoth  of  danger,  shall  the  strong  grip  of 

213 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

the  nation  be  loosened  upon  him,  to  intrust  him 
to  the  hands  of  such  feeble  keepers? 

I  have  done  with  this  mighty  argument  of  self- 
government.     Go,  sacred  thing!     Go  in  peace. 

But  Nebraska  is  urged  as  a  great  Union-saving 
measure.  Well,  I  too  go  for  saving  the  Union. 
Much  as  I  hate  slavery,  I  would  consent  to  the 
extension  of  it  rather  than  see  the  Union  dissolved, 
just  as  I  would  consent  to  any  great  evil  to  avoid 
a  greater  one.  But  when  I  go  to  Union-saving,  I 
must  believe,  at  least,  that  the  means  I  employ 
have  some  adaptation  to  the  end.  To  my  mind, 
Nebraska  has  no  such  adaptation. 

"It  hath  no  relish  of  salvation  in  it." 
It  is  an  aggravation,  rather,  of  the  only  one  thing 
which  ever  endangers  the  Union.  When  it  came 
upon  us,  all  was  peace  and  quiet.  The  nation  was 
looking  to  the  forming  of  new  bonds  of  union, 
and  a  long  course  of  peace  and  prosperity  seemed 
to  lie  before  us.  In  the  whole  range  of  possibility, 
there  scarcely  appears  to  me  to  have  been  anything 
out  of  which  the  slavery  agitation  could  have  been 
revived,  except  the  very  project  of  repealing  the 
Missouri  Compromise.  Every  inch  of  territory 
we  owned  already  had  a  definite  settlement  of  the 
slavery  question,  by  which  all  parties  were  pledged 
to  abide.     Indeed,  there  was  no  uninhabited  coun- 

214 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


try  on  the  continent  which  we  could  acquire,  if 
we  except  some  extreme  northern  regions  which 
are  wholly  out  of  the  question. 

In  this  state  of  affairs  the  Genius  of  Discord 
himself  could  scarcely  have  invented  a  way  of 
again  setting  us  by  the  ears  but  by  turning  back 
and  destroying  the  peace  measures  of  the  past.  The 
counsels  of  that  Genius  seem  to  have  prevailed. 
The  Missouri  Compromise  was  repealed;  and  here 
we  are  in  the  midst  of  a  new  slavery  agitation, 
such,  I  think,  as  we  have  never  seen  before.  Who 
is  responsible  for  this?  Is  it  those  who  resist  the 
measure,  or  those  who  causelessly  brought  it  for- 
ward, and  pressed  it  through,  having  reason  to 
know,  and  in  fact  knowing,  it  must  and  would  be 
so  resisted?  It  could  not  but  be  expected  by  its 
author  that  it  would  be  looked  upon  as  a  measure 
for  the  extension  of  slavery,  aggravated  by  a  gross 
breach  of  faith. 

Argue  as  you  will  and  long  as  you  will,  this  is 
the  naked  front  and  aspect  of  the  measure.  And 
in  this  aspect  it  could  not  but  produce  agitation. 
Slavery  is  founded  in  the  selfishness  of  man's  na- 
ture— opposition  to  it  in  his  love  of  justice.  These 
principles  are  at  eternal  antagonism,  and  when 
brought  into  collision  so  fiercely  as  slavery  exten- 
sion brings  them,  shocks  and  throes  and  convul- 

215 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

sions  must  ceaselessly  follow.  Repeal  the  Mis- 
souri Compromise,  repeal  all  compromises,  repeal 
the  Declaration  of  Independence,  repeal  all  past 
history,  you  still  cannot  repeal  human  nature.  It 
still  will  be  out  of  the  abundance  of  man's  heart 
that  slavery  extension  is  wrong,  and  out  of  the 
abundance  of  his  heart  his  mouth  will  continue  to 
speak. 

The  structure,  too,  of  the  Nebraska  Bill  is  very 
peculiar.  The  people  are  to  decide  the  question  of 
slavery  for  themselves;  but  when  they  are  to  de- 
cide, or  how  they  are  to  decide,  or  whether,  when 
the  question  is  once  decided,  it  is  to  remain  so  or 
is  to  be  subject  to  an  indefinite  succession  of  new 
trials,  the  law  does  not  say.  Is  it  to  be  decided  by 
the  first  dozen  settlers  who  arrive  there,  or  is  it  to 
await  the  arrival  of  a  hundred?  Is  it  to  be  decided 
by  a  vote  of  the  people  or  a  vote  of  the  Legislature, 
or,  indeed,  by  a  vote  of  any  sort?  To  these  ques- 
tions the  law  gives  no  answer.  There  is  a  mystery 
about  this;  for  when  a  member  proposed  to  give 
the  Legislature  express  authority  to  exclude  slav- 
ery, it  was  hooted  down  by  the  friends  of  the  bill. 
This  fact  is  worth  remembering.  Some  Yankees 
in  the  East  are  sending  emigrants  to  Nebraska  to 
exclude  slavery  from  it;  and  so  far  as  I  can  judge, 
they  expect  the  question  to  be  decided  by  voting 

216 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


in  some  way  or  other.  But  the  Missourians  are 
awake,  too.  They  are  within  a  stoneVthrow  of 
the  contested  ground.  They  hold  meetings  and 
pass  resolutions,  in  which  not  the  slightest  allu- 
sion to  voting  is  made.  They  resolve  that  slavery 
already  exists  in  the  Territory;  that  more  shall 
go  there;  that  they,  remaining  in  Missouri,  will 
protect  it,  and  that  abolitionists  shall  be  hung  or 
driven  away.  Through  all  this,  bowie-knives  and 
six-shooters  are  seen  plainly  enough,  but  never  a 
glimpse  of  the  ballot-box. 

And,  really,  what  is  the  result  of  all  this?  Each 
party  within  having  numerous  and  determined 
backers  without,  is  it  not  probable  that  the  con- 
test will  come  to  blows  and  bloodshed?  Could 
there  be  a  more  apt  invention  to  bring  about  colli- 
sion and  violence  on  the  slavery  question  than  this 
Nebraska  project  is?  I  do  not  charge  or  believe 
that  such  was  intended  by  Congress;  but  if  they 
had  literally  formed  a  ring  and  placed  champions 
within  it  to  fight  out  the  controversy,  the  fight 
could  be  no  more  likely  to  come  off  than  it  is. 
And  if  this  fight  should  begin,  is  it  likely  to  take 
a  very  peaceful,  Union-saving  turn?  Will  not 
the  first  drop  of  blood  so  shed  be  the  real  knell 
of  the  Union? 

217 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


The  Missouri  Compromise  ought  to  be  restored. 
For  the  sake  of  the  Union,  it  ought  to  be  re- 
stored. We  ought  to  elect  a  House  of  Represen- 
tatives which  will  vote  its  restoration.  If  by  any 
means  we  omit  to  do  this,  what  follows?  Slavery 
may  or  may  not  be  established  in  Nebraska.  But 
whether  it  be  or  not,  we  shall  have  repudiated — 
discarded  from  the  councils  of  the  nation — the 
spirit  of  compromise;  for  who,  after  this,  will  ever 
trust  in  a  national  compromise?  The  spirit  of 
mutual  concession — that  spirit  which  first  gave  us 
the  Constitution,  and  which  has  thrice  saved  the 
Union — we  shall  have  strangled  and  cast  from  us 
forever.  And  what  shall  we  have  in  lieu  of  it?  The 
South  flushed  with  triumph  and  tempted  to  ex- 
cess; the  North,  betrayed  as  they  believe,  brooding 
on  wrong  and  burning  for  revenge.  One  side  will 
provoke,  the  other  resent.  The  one  will  taunt, 
the  other  defy;  one  aggresses,  the  other  retaliates. 
Already  a  few  in  the  North  defy  all  constitutional 
restraints,  resist  the  execution  of  the  fugitive 
slave  law,  and  even  menace  the  institution  of  slav- 
ery in  the  States  where  it  exists.  Already  a  few 
in  the  South  claim  the  constitutional  right  to  take 
and  to  hold  slaves  in  the  free  States,  demand  the  re- 
vival of  the  slave-trade,  and  demand  a  treaty  with 
Great  Britain  by  which  fugitive  slaves  may  be  re- 

218 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

claimed  from  Canada.  As  yet  they  are  but  few 
on  either  side.  It  is  a  grave  question  for  lovers  of 
the  Union  whether  the  final  destruction  of  the 
Missouri  Compromise,  and  with  it  the  spirit  of  all 
compromise,  will  or  will  not  embolden  and  em- 
bitter each  of  these,  and  fatally  increase  the  num- 
ber of  both. 

But  restore  the  compromise,  and  what  then? 
We  thereby  restore  the  national  faith,  the  national 
confidence,  the  national  feeling  of  brotherhood. 
We  thereby  reinstate  the  spirit  of  concession  and 
compromise,  that  spirit  which  has  never  failed  us 
in  past  perils,  and  which  may  be  safely  trusted  for 
all  the  future.  The  South  ought  to  join  in  doing 
this.  The  peace  of  the  nation  is  as  dear  to  them 
as  to  us.  In  memories  of  the  past  and  hopes  of 
the  future,  they  share  as  largely  as  we.  It  would 
be  on  their  part  a  great  act — great  in  its  spirit,  and 
great  in  its  effect.  It  would  be  worth  to  the  nation 
a  hundred  years'  purchase  of  peace  and  prosperity. 
And  what  of  sacrifice  would  they  make?  They 
only  surrender  to  us  what  they  gave  us  for  a  con- 
sideration long,  long  ago;  what  they  have  not  now 
asked  for,  struggled  or  cared  for;  what  has  been 
thrust  upon  them,  not  less  to  their  astonishment 
than  to  ours. 

But  it  is  said  we  cannot  restore  it;  that  though 

219 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


we  elect  every  member  of  the  lower  House,  the 
Senate  is  still  against  us.  It  is  quite  true  that  of 
the  senators  who  passed  the  Nebraska  Bill  a 
majority  of  the  whole  Senate  will  retain  their 
seats  in  spite  of  the  elections  of  this  and  the  next 
year.  But  if  at  these  elections  their  several  constit- 
uencies shall  clearly  express  their  will  against  Ne- 
braska, will  these  senators  disregard  their  will? 
Will  they  neither  obey  nor  make  room  for  those 
who  will? 

But  even  if  we  fail  to  technically  restore  the 
compromise,  it  is  still  a  great  point  to  carry  a  pop- 
ular vote  in  favor  of  the  restoration.  The  moral 
weight  of  such  a  vote  cannot  be  estimated  too 
highly.  The  authors  of  Nebraska  are  not  at  all 
satisfied  with  the  destruction  of  the  compromise — 
an  indorsement  of  this  principle  they  proclaim  to 
be  the  great  object.  With  them,  Nebraska  alone 
is  a  small  matter — to  establish  a  principle  for  fu- 
ture use  is  what  they  particularly  desire. 

Illinois  Daily  Journal,  October  26,  1854: 

The  future  use  is  to  be  the  planting  of  slavery 
wherever  in  the  wide  world  local  and  unorganized 
opposition  cannot  prevent  it.  Now,  if  you  wish 
to  give  them  this  indorsement,  if  you  wish  to  es- 
tablish this  principle,  do  so.    I  shall  regret  it,  but 

220 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


it  is  your  right.  On  the  contrary,  if  you  are  op- 
posed to  the  principle — intend  to  give  it  no  such 
indorsement — let  no  wheedling,  no  sophistry,  di- 
vert you  from  throwing  a  direct  vote  against  it. 

Some  men,  mostly  Whigs,  who  condemn  the 
repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise,  nevertheless 
hesitate  to  go  for  its  restoration,  lest  they  be 
thrown  in  company  with  the  abolitionists.  Will 
they  allow  me,  as  an  old  Whig,  to  tell  them, 
good-humoredly,  that  I  think  this  is  very  silly? 
Stand  with  anybody  that  stands  right.  Stand 
with  him  while  he  is  right,  and  part  with  him 
when  he  goes  wrong.  Stand  with  the  abolitionist 
in  restoring  the  Missouri  Compromise,  and  stand 
against  him  when  he  attempts  to  repeal  the  fugi- 
tive slave  law.  In  the  latter  case  you  stand  with 
the  Southern  disunionist.  What  of  that?  You 
are  still  right.  In  both  cases  you  are  right.  In 
both  cases  you  oppose  the  dangerous  extremes.  In 
both  you  stand  on  middle  ground,  and  hold  the 
ship  level  and  steady.  In  both  you  are  national, 
and  nothing  less  than  national.  This  is  the  good 
old  Whig  ground.  To  desert  such  ground  because 
of  any  company  is  to  be  less  than  a  Whig — less 
than  a  man — less  than  an  American. 

I  particularly  object  to  the  new  position  which 
the  avowed  principle  of  this  Nebraska  law  gives  to 

221 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

slavery  in  the  body  politic.  I  object  to  it  because 
it  assumes  that  there  can  be  moral  right  in  the 
enslaving  of  one  man  by  another.  I  object  to  it 
as  a  dangerous  dalliance  for  a  free  people — a  sad 
evidence  that,  feeling  prosperity,  we  forget  right; 
that  liberty,  as  a  principle,  we  have  ceased  to  re- 
vere. I  object  to  it  because  the  fathers  of  the  re- 
public eschewed  and  rejected  it.  The  argument  of 
"necessity"  was  the  only  argument  they  ever  ad- 
mitted in  favor  of  slavery;  and  so  far,  and  so  far 
only,  as  it  carried  them  did  they  ever  go.  They 
found  the  institution  existing  among  us,  which 
they  could  not  help,  and  they  cast  blame  upon 
the  British  king  for  having  permitted  its  introduc- 
tion. Before  the  Constitution  they  prohibited  its 
introduction  into  the  Northwestern  Territory, 
the  only  country  we  owned  then  free  from  it.  At 
the  framing  and  adoption  of  the  Constitution, 
they  forbore  to  so  much  as  mention  the  word 
"slave"  or  "slavery"  in  the  whole  instrument.  In 
the  provision  for  the  recovery  of  fugitives,  the 
slave  is  spoken  of  as  a  "person  held  to  service  or 
labor."  In  that  prohibiting  the  abolition  of  the 
African  slave-trade  for  twenty  years,  that  trade  is 
spoken  of  as  "the  migration  or  importation  of 
such  persons  as  any  of  the  States  now  existing 
shall  think  proper  to  admit,"  etc.     These  are  the 

222 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


only  provisions  alluding  to  slavery.  Thus  the 
thing  is  hid  away  in  the  Constitution,  just  as  an 
afflicted  man  hides  away  a  wen  or  cancer  which 
he  dares  not  cut  out  at  once,  lest  he  bleed  to  death 
— with  the  promise,  nevertheless,  that  the  cutting 
may  begin  at  a  certain  time.  Less  than  this  our 
fathers  could  not  do,  and  more  they  would  not  do. 
Necessity  drove  them  so  far,  and  farther  they 
would  not  go.  But  this  is  not  all.  The  earliest 
Congress  under  the  Constitution  took  the  same 
view  of  slavery.  They  hedged  and  hemmed  it  in 
to  the  narrowest  limits  of  necessity. 

In  1  794  they  prohibited  an  outgoing  slave-trade 
— that  is,  the  taking  of  slaves  from  the  United 
States  to  sell.  In  1  798  they  prohibited  the  bring- 
ing of  slaves  from  Africa  into  the  Mississippi  Ter- 
ritory, this  Territory  then  comprising  what  are 
now  the  States  of  Mississippi  and  Alabama.  This 
was  ten  years  before  they  had  the  authority  to  do 
the  same  thing  as  to  the  States  existing  at  the 
adoption  of  the  Constitution.  In  1800  they  pro- 
hibited American  citizens  from  trading  in  slaves 
between  foreign  countries,  as,  for  instance,  from 
Africa  to  Brazil.  In  1803  they  passed  a  law  in 
aid  of  one  or  two  slave-State  laws  in  restraint  of 
the  internal  slave-trade.  In  1807,  in  apparent 
hot  haste,  they  passed  the  law,  nearly  a  year  in 

223 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

advance — to  take  effect  the  first  day  of  1808,  the 
very  first  day  the  Constitution  would  permit — 
prohibiting  the  African  slave-trade  by  heavy  pe- 
cuniary and  corporal  penalties.  In  1820,  finding 
these  provisions  ineffectual,  they  declared  the  slave- 
trade  piracy,  and  annexed  to  it  the  extreme  penalty 
of  death.  While  all  this  was  passing  in  the  Gen- 
eral Government,  five  or  six  of  the  original  slave 
States  had  adopted  systems  of  gradual  emancipa- 
tion, by  which  the  institution  was  rapidly  becom- 
ing extinct  within  their  limits.  Thus  we  see  that 
the  plain,  unmistakable  spirit  of  that  age  toward 
slavery  was  hostility  to  the  principle  and  tolera- 
tion only  by  necessity. 

But  now  it  is  to  be  transformed  into  a  ' 'sacred 
right."  Nebraska  brings  it  forth,  places  it  on  the 
highroad  to  extension  and  perpetuity,  and  with  a 
pat  on  its  back  says  to  it,  "Go,  and  God  speed 
you."  Henceforth  it  is  to  be  the  chief  jewel  of  the 
nation — the  very  figure-head  of  the  ship  of  state. 
Little  by  little,  but  steadily  as  man's  march  to  the 
grave,  we  have  been  giving  up  the  old  for  the  new 
faith.  Near  eighty  years  ago  we  began  by  declar- 
ing that  all  men  are  created  equal;  but  now  from 
that  beginning  we  have  run  down  to  the  other 
declaration,  that  for  some  men  to  enslave  others 
is  a  "sacred  right  of  self-government."  These  prin- 

224 


ABRAHAM.     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


ciplcs  cannot  stand  together.  They  are  as  opposite 
as  God  and  Mammon;  and  whoever  holds  to  the 
one  must  despise  the  other.  When  Pettit,  in  con- 
nection with  his  support  of  the  Nebraska  Bill, 
called  the  Declaration  of  Independence  "a  self- 
evident  lie,"  he  only  did  what  consistency  and 
candor  require  all  other  Nebraska  men  to  do.  Of 
the  forty-odd  Nebraska  senators  who  sat  present 
and  heard  him,  no  one  rebuked  him.  Nor  am  I 
apprised  that  any  Nebraska  newspaper,  or  any 
Nebraska  orator,  in  the  whole  nation  has  ever  yet 
rebuked  him:  If  this  had  been  said  among  Mar- 
ion's men,  Southerners  though  they  were,  what 
would  have  become  of  the  man  who  said  it?  If 
this  had  been  said  to  the  men  who  captured  Andre, 
the  man  who  said  it  would  probably  have  been 
hung  sooner  than  Andre  was.  If  it  had  been  said 
in  old  Independence  Hall  seventy-eight  years  ago, 
the  very  doorkeeper  would  have  throttled  the 
man  and  thrust  him  into  the  street.  Let  no  one 
be  deceived.  The  spirit  of  seventy-six  and  the 
spirit  of  Nebraska  are  utter  antagonisms;  and  the 
former  is  being  rapidly  displaced  by  the  latter. 

Fellow-countrymen,  Americans,  South  as  well 
as  North,  shall  we  make  no  effort  to  arrest  this? 
Already  the  liberal  party  throughout  the  world 
express  the  apprehension  that  "the  one  retrograde 
is  225 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

institution  in  America  is  undermining  the  princi- 
ples of  progress,  and  fatally  violating  the  noblest 
political  system  the  world  ever  saw."  This  is  not 
the  taunt  of  enemies,  but  the  warning  of  friends. 
Is  it  quite  safe  to  disregard  it — to  despise  it?  Is 
there  no  danger  to  liberty  itself  in  discarding  the 
earliest  practice  and  first  precept  of  our  ancient 
faith?  In  our  greedy  chase  to  make  profit  of  the 
negro,  let  us  beware  lest  we  "cancel  and  tear  in 
pieces"  even  the  white  man's  charter  of  freedom. 

Our  republican  robe  is  soiled  and  trailed  in  the 
dust.  Let  us  repurify  it.  Let  us  turn  and  wash  it 
white  in  the  spirit,  if  not  the  blood,  of  the  Revolu- 
tion. Let  us  turn  slavery  from  its  claims  of  "moral 
right"  back  upon  its  existing  legal  rights  and  its 
arguments  of  "necessity."  Let  us  return  it  to  the 
position  our  fathers  gave  it,  and  there  let  it  rest  in 
peace.  Let  us  readopt  the  Declaration  of  Inde- 
pendence, and  with  it  the  practices  and  policy 
which  harmonize  with  it.  Let  North  and  South 
— let  all  Americans — let  all  lovers  of  liberty  every- 
where join  in  the  great  and  good  work.  If  we 
do  this,  we  shall  not  only  have  saved  the  Union, 
but  we  shall  have  so  saved  it  as  to  make  and  to 
keep  it  forever  worthy  of  the  saving.  We  shall 
have  so  saved  it  that  the  succeeding  millions  of  free. 

226 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

happy  people  the  world  over  shall  rise  up  and 
call  us  blessed  to  the  latest  generations. 

Illinois  Daily  Journal,  October  27,  1854: 

At  Springfield,  twelve  days  ago,  where  I  had 
spoken  substantially  as  I  have  here,  Judge  Douglas 
replied  to  me;  and  as  he  is  to  reply  to  me  here,  I 
shall  attempt  to  anticipate  him  by  noticing  some 
of  the  points  he  made  there.  He  commenced  by 
stating  I  had  assumed  all  the  way  through  that  the 
principle  of  the  Nebraska  Bill  would  have  the 
effect  of  extending  slavery,  He  denied  that  this 
was  intended  or  that  this  effect  would  follow. 

I  will  not  reopen  the  argument  upon  this  point. 
That  such  was  the  intention,  the  world  believed  at 
the  start,  and  will  continue  to  believe.  This  was 
the  countenance  of  the  thing,  and  both  friends  and 
enemies  instantly  recognized  it  as  such.  That  coun- 
tenance cannot  now  be  changed  by  argument.  You 
can  as  easily  argue  the  color  out  of  the  negro's  skin. 
Like  the  ''bloody  hand,"  you  may  wash  it  and 
wash  it,  the  red  witness  of  guilt  still  sticks  and 
stares  horribly  at  you. 

Next,  he  says  that  Congressional  intervention 
never  prevented  slavery  anywhere;  that  it  did  not 
prevent  it  in  the  Northwestern  Territory,  nor  in 
Illinois;  that,  in  fact,  Illinois  came  into  the  Union 

227 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


as  a  slave  State;  that  the  principle  of  the  Nebraska 
Bill  expelled  it  from  Illinois,  from  several  old 
States,  from  everywhere. 

Now  this  is  mere  quibbling  all  the  way- 
through.  If  the  Ordinance  of  '87  did  not  keep 
slavery  out  of  the  Northwest  Territory,  how  hap- 
pens it  that  the  northwest  shore  of  the  Ohio  River 
is  entirely  free  from  it,  while  the  southeast  shore, 
less  than  a  mile  distant,  along  nearly  the  whole 
length  of  the  river,  is  entirely  covered  with  it? 

If  that  ordinance  did  not  keep  it  out  of  Illinois, 
what  was  it  that  made  the  difference  between  Illi- 
nois and  Missouri?  They  lie  side  by  side,  the 
Mississippi  River  only  dividing  them,  while  their 
early  settlements  were  within  the  same  latitude. 
Between  1810  and  1820  the  number  of  slaves  in 
Missouri  increased  7,211,  while  in  Illinois  in  the 
same  ten  years  they  decreased  51.  This  appears 
by  the  census  returns.  During  nearly  all  of  that 
ten  years  both  were  Territories,  not  States.  Dur- 
ing this  time  the  ordinance  forbade  slavery  to  go 
into  Illinois,  and  nothing  forbade  it  to  go  into 
Missouri.  It  did  go  into  Missouri,  and  did  not  go 
into  Illinois.  That  is  the  fact.  Can  any  one  doubt 
as  to  the  reason  of  it?  But  he  says  Illinois  came 
into  the  Union  as  a  slave  State.     Silence,  perhaps, 

228 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


would  be  the  best  answer  to  this  flat  contradiction 
of  the  known  history  of  the  country.  What  are 
the  facts  upon  which  this  bold  assertion  is  based? 
When  we  first  acquired  the  country,  as  far  back  as 
1  787,  there  were  some  slaves  within  it  held  by  the 
French  inhabitants  of  Kaskaskia.  The  territorial 
legislation  admitted  a  few  negroes  from  the  slave 
States  as  indentured  servants.  One  year  after  the 
adoption  of  the  first  State  constitution,  the  whole 
number  of  them  was — what  do  you  think?  Just 
one  hundred  and  seventeen,  while  the  aggregate 
free  population  was  55,094 — about  four  hundred 
and  seventy  to  one.  Upon  this  state  of  facts  the 
people  framed  their  constitution  prohibiting  the 
further  introduction  of  slavery,  with  a  sort  of 
guaranty  to  the  owners  of  the  few  indentured 
servants,  giving  freedom  to  their  children  to  be 
born  thereafter,  and  making  no  mention  whatever 
of  any  supposed  slave  for  life.  Out  of  this  small 
matter  the  Judge  manufactures  his  argument  that 
Illinois  came  into  the  Union  as  a  slave  State.  Let 
the  facts  be  the  answer  to  the  argument. 

The  principles  of  the  Nebraska  Bill,  he  says,  ex- 
pelled slavery  from  Illinois.  The  principle  of  that 
bill  first  planted  it  here — that  is,  it  first  came  be- 
cause there  was  no  law  to  prevent  it,  first  came  be- 
fore we  owned  the  country;  and  finding  it  here, 

229 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


and  having  the  Ordinance  of  '87  to  prevent  its 
increasing,  our  people  struggled  along,  and  finally 
got  rid  of  it  as  best  they  could. 

But  the  principle  of  the  Nebraska  Bill  abolished 
slavery  in  several  of  the  old  States.  Well,  it  is 
true  that  several  of  the  old  States,  in  the  last  quar- 
ter of  the  last  century,  did  adopt  systems  of  grad- 
ual emancipation  by  which  the  institution  has 
finally  become  extinct  within  their  limits;  but  it 
may  or  may  not  be  true  that  the  principle  of  the 
Nebraska  Bill  was  the  cause  that  led  to  the  adop- 
tion of  these  measures.  It  is  now  more  than  fifty 
years  since  the  last  of  these  States  adopted  its  sys- 
tem of  emancipation. 

If  the  Nebraska  Bill  is  the  real  author  of  the 
benevolent  works,  it  is  rather  deplorable  that  it 
has  for  so  long  a  time  ceased  working  altogether. 
Is  there  not  some  reason  to  suspect  that  it  was  the 
principle  of  the  Revolution,  and  not  the  principle 
of  the  Nebraska  Bill,  that  led  to  emancipation  in 
these  old  States?  Leave  it  to  the  people  of  these 
old  emancipating  States,  and  I  am  quite  certain 
they  will  decide  that  neither  that  nor  any  other 
good  thing  ever  did  or  ever  will  come  of  the  Ne- 
braska Bill. 

In  the  course  of  my  main  argument,  Judge 
Douglas  interrupted  me  to  say  that  the  principle 

230 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


of  the  Nebraska  Bill  was  very  old;  that  it  origin- 
ated when  God  made  man,  and  placed  good  and 
evil  before  him,  allowing  him  to  choose  for  him- 
self, being  responsible  for  the  choice  he  should 
make.  At  the  time  I  thought  this  was  merely 
playful,  and  I  answered  it  accordingly.  But  in 
his  reply  to  me  he  renewed  it  as  a  serious  argu- 
ment. In  seriousness,  then,  the  facts  of  this  prop- 
osition are  not  true  as  stated.  God  did  not  place 
good  and  evil  before  man,  telling  him  to  make  his 
choice.  On  the  contrary,  he  did  tell  him  there  was 
one  tree  of  the  fruit  of  which  he  should  not  eat, 
upon  pain  of  certain  death.  I  should  scarcely  wish 
so  strong  a  prohibition  against  slavery  in  Ne- 
braska. 

But  this  argument  strikes  me  as  not  a  little 
remarkable  in  another  particular — in  its  strong 
resemblance  to  the  old  argument  for  the  '  'divine 
right  of  kings."  By  the  latter,  the  king  is  to  do 
just  as  he  pleases  with  his  white  subjects,  being 
responsible  to  God  alone.  By  the  former,  the 
white  man  is  to  do  just  as  he  pleases  with  his  black 
slaves,  being  responsible  to  God  alone.  The  two 
things  are  precisely  alike,  and  it  is  but  natural  that 
they  should  find  similar  arguments  to  sustain 
them. 

I  had  argued  that  the  application  of  the  prin- 

231 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

ciple  of  self-government,  as  contended  for,  would 
require  the  revival  of  the  African  slave-trade;  that 
no  argument  could  be  made  in  favor  of  a  man's 
right  to  take  slaves  to  Nebraska  which  could  not 
be  equally  well  made  in  favor  of  his  right  to  bring 
them  from  the  coast  of  Africa.  The  Judge  replied 
that  the  Constitution  requires  the  suppression  of 
the  foreign  slave-trade,  but  does  not  require  the 
prohibition  of  slavery  in  the  Territories.  That  is 
a  mistake  in  point  of  fact.  The  Constitution  does 
not  require  the  action  of  Congress  in  either  case, 
and  it  does  authorize  it  in  both.  And  so  there  is 
still  no  difference  between  the  cases. 

In  regard  to  what  I  have  said  of  the  advantage 
the  slave  States  have  over  the  free  in  the  matter  of 
representation,  the  Judge  replied  that  we  in  the 
free  States  count  five  free  negroes  as  five  white  peo- 
ple, while  in  the  slave  States  they  count  five  slaves 
as  three  whites  only;  and  that  the  advantage,  at 
last,  was  on  the  side  of  the  free  States. 

Now,  in  the  slave  States  they  count  free  negroes 

just  as  we  do;  and  it  so  happens  that,  besides  their 

slaves,  they  have  as  many  free  negroes  as  we  have, 

and  thirty  thousand  over.  Thus,  their  free  negroes 

more  than  balance  ours;  and  their  advantage  over 

us,  in  consequence  of  their  slaves,  still  remains  as  I 

stated  it. 

232 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


Illinois  Daily  Journal,  October  29 ,  1854: 

In  reply  to  my  argument  that  the  compromise 
measures  of  1850  were  a  system  of  equivalents, 
and  that  the  provision  of  no  one  of  them  could 
fairly  be  carried  to  other  subjects  without  its  cor- 
responding equivalent  being  carried  with  it,  the 
Judge  denied  outright  that  these  measures  had  any 
connection  with  or  dependence  upon  each  other. 
This  is  mere  desperation.  If  they  had  no  connec- 
tion, why  are  they  always  spoken  of  in  connec- 
tion? Why  has  he  so  spoken  of  them  a  thousand 
times?  Why  has  he  constantly  called  them  a  series 
of  measures?  Why  does  everybody  call  them  a 
compromise?  Why  was  California  kept  out  of 
the  Union  six  or  seven  months,  if  it  was  not  be- 
cause of  its  connection  with  the  other  measures? 
Webster's  leading  definition  of  the  verb  "to  com- 
promise" is  "to  adjust  and  settle  a  difference,  by 
mutual  agreement,  with  concessions  of  claims  by 
the  parties."  This  conveys  precisely  the  popular 
understanding  of  the  word  "compromise." 

We  knew,  before  the  Judge  told  us,  that  these 
measures  passed  separately,  and  in  distinct  bills, 
and  that  no  two  of  them  were  passed  by  the  votes 
of  precisely  the  same  members.  But  we  also  know, 
and  so  does  he  know,  that  no  one  of  them  could 
have  passed  both  branches  of  Congress  but  for  the 

233 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


understanding  that  the  others  were  to  pass  also. 
Upon  this  understanding,  each  got  votes  which 
it  could  have  got  in  no  other  way.  It  is  this  fact 
which  gives  to  the  measures  their  true. character; 
and  it  is  the  universal  knowledge  of  this  fact  that 
has  given  them  the  name  of  "compromises/'  so 
expressive  of  that  true  character. 

I  had  asked:  "If,  in  carrying  the  Utah  and 
New  Mexico  laws  to  Nebraska,  you  could  clear 
away  other  objection,  how  could  you  leave  Ne- 
braska 'perfectly  free'  to  introduce  slavery  before 
she  forms  a  constitution,  during  her  territorial 
government,  while  the  Utah  and  New  Mexico 
laws  only  authorize  it  when  they  form  constitu- 
tions and  are  admitted  into  the  Union?"  To 
this  Judge  Douglas  answered  that  the  Utah  and 
New  Mexico  laws  also  authorized  it  before;  and 
to  prove  this  he  read  from  one  of  their  laws,  as 
follows:  "That  the  legislative  power  of  said  Ter- 
ritory shall  extend  to  all  rightful  subjects  of  leg- 
islation, consistent  with  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  and  the  provisions  of  this  act." 

Now  it  is  perceived  from  the  reading  of  this  that 
there  is  nothing  express  upon  the  subject,  but  that 
the  authority  is  sought  to  be  implied  merely  for 
the  general  provision  of  "all  rightful  subjects  of 
legislation."     In  reply  to  this  I  insist,  as  a  legal 

234 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


rule  of  construction,  as  well  as  the  plain,  popular 
view  of  the  matter,  that  the  express  provision  for 
Utah  and  New  Mexico  coming  in  with  slavery,  if 
they  choose,  when  they  shall  form  constitutions, 
is  an  exclusion  of  all  implied  authority  on  the  same 
subject;  that  Congress  having  the  subject  dis- 
tinctly in  their  minds  when  they  made  the  express 
provision,  they  therein  expressed  their  whole 
meaning  on  that  subject. 

The  Judge  rather  insinuated  that  I  had  found  it 
convenient  to  forget  the  Washington  territorial 
law  passed  in  1853.  This  was  a  division  of  Ore- 
gon, organizing  the  northern  part  as  the  Terri- 
tory of  Washington.  He  asserted  that  by  this 
act  the  Ordinance  of  '87,  therefore  existing  in 
Oregon,  was  repealed;  that  nearly  all  the  members 
of  Congress  voted  for  it,  beginning  in  the  House 
of  Representatives  with  Charles  Allen  of  Massa- 
chusetts, and  ending  with  Richard  Yates  of  Illi- 
nois; and  that  he  could  not  understand  how  those 
who  now  opposed  the  Nebraska  Bill  so  voted 
there,  unless  it  was  because  it  was  then  too  soon 
after  both  the  great  political  parties  had  ratified 
the  compromises  of  1850,  and  the  ratification 
therefore  was  too  fresh  to  be  then  repudiated. 

Now  I  had  seen  the  Washington  act  before,  and 
I  have  carefully  examined  it  since;  and  I  aver  that 

235 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


there  is  no  repeal  of  the  Ordinance  of  '87,  or  of 
any  prohibition  of  slavery,  in  it.  In  express  terms, 
there  is  absolutely  nothing  in  the  whole  law  upon 
the  subject — in  fact,  nothing  to  lead  a  reader  to 
think  of  the  subject.  To  my  judgment  it  is 
equally  free  from  everything  from  which  repeal 
can  be  legally  implied;  but,  however  this  may  be, 
are  men  now  to  be  entrapped  by  a  legal  implica- 
tion, extracted  from  covert  language,  introduced 
perhaps  for  the  very  purpose  of  entrapping  them? 
I  sincerely  wish  every  man  could  read  this  law 
quite  through,  carefully  watching  every  sentence 
and  every  line  for  a  repeal  of  the  Ordinance  of  '87, 
or  anything  equivalent  to  it. 

Another  point  on  the  Washington  act:  If  it 
was  intended  to  be  modeled  after  the  Utah  and 
New  Mexico  acts,  as  Judge  Douglas  insists,  why 
was  it  not  inserted  in  it,  as  in  them,  that  Washing- 
ton was  to  come  in  with  or  without  slavery  as 
she  may  choose  at  the  adoption  of  her  constitu- 
tion? It  has  no  such  provision  in  it;  and  I  defy 
the  ingenuity  of  man  to  give  a  reason  for  the 
omission,  other  than  that  it  was  intended  to  fol- 
low the  Utah  and  New  Mexico  laws  in  regard  to 
the  question  of  slavery. 

The  Washington  act  not  only  differs  vitally 
from  the  Utah  and  New  Mexico  acts,  but  the  Ne- 

236 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


braska  act  differs  vitally  from  both.  By  the  latter 
act  the  people  are  left  "perfectly  free"  to  regulate 
their  own  domestic  concerns,  etc.;  but  in  all  the 
former,  all  their  laws  are  to  be  submitted  to  Con- 
gress, and  if  disapproved  are  to  be  null.  The  Wash- 
ington act  goes  even  further;  it  absolutely  pro- 
hibits the  territorial  Legislature,  by  very  strong 
and  guarded  language,  from  establishing  banks  or 
borrowing  money  on  the  faith  of  the  Territory.  Is 
this  the  sacred  right  of  self-government  we  hear 
vaunted  so  much?  No,  sir;  the  Nebraska  Bill  finds 
no  model  in  the  acts  of  '50  or  the  Washington  act. 
It  finds  no  model  in  any  law  from  Adam  till  to- 
day. As  Phillips  says  of  Napoleon,  the  Nebraska 
act  is  grand,  gloomy  and  peculiar,  wrapped  in  the 
solitude  of  its  own  originality,  without  a  model 
and  without  a  shadow  upon  the  earth. 

In  the  course  of  his  reply  Senator  Douglas  re- 
marked in  substance  that  he  had  always  considered 
this  government  was  made  for  the  white  people 
and  not  for  the  negroes.  Why,  in  point  of  mere 
fact,  I  think  so  too.  But  in  this  remark  of  the 
Judge  there  is  a  significance  which  I  think  is  the 
key  to  the  great  mistake  (if  there  is  any  such 
mistake)  which  he  has  made  in  this  Nebraska 
measure.     It  shows  that  the  Judge  has  no  very 

237 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


vivid  impression  that  the  negro  is  human,  and 
consequently  has  no  idea  that  there  can  be  any 
moral  question  in  legislating  about  him.  In  his 
view  the  question  of  whether  a  new  country  shall 
be  slave  or  free  is  a  matter  of  as  utter  indifference 
as  it  is  whether  his  neighbor  shall  plant  his  farm 
with  tobacco  or  stock  it  with  horned  cattle.  Now, 
whether  this  view  is  right  or  wrong,  it  is  very  cer- 
tain that  the  great  mass  of  mankind  take  a  totally 
different  view.  They  consider  slavery  a  great 
moral  wrong,  and  their  feeling  against  it  is  not 
evanescent,  but  eternal.  It  lies  at  the  very  foun- 
dation of  their  sense  of  justice,  and  it  cannot  be 
trifled  with.  It  is  a  great  and  durable  element  of 
popular  action,  and  I  think  no  statesman  can 
safely  disregard  it. 

Our  Senator  also  objects  that  those  who  oppose 
him  in  this  matter  do  not  entirely  agree  with  one 
another.  He  reminds  me  that  in  my  firm  adher- 
ence to  the  constitutional  rights  of  the  slave 
States  I  differ  widely  from  others  who  are  co-oper- 
ating with  me  in  opposing  the  Nebraska  Bill,  and 
he  says  it  is  not  quite  fair  to  oppose  him  in  this 
variety  of  ways.  He  should  remember  that  he 
took  us  by  surprise — astounded  us  by  this  meas- 
ure. We  were  thunderstruck  and  stunned,  and 
we  reeled  and  fell  in  utter  confusion.    But  we  rose. 

238 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


each  fighting,  grasping  whatever  he  could  first 
reach — a  scythe,  pitchfork,  a  chopping  ax,  or  a 
butcher's  cleaver.  We  struck  in  the  direction  of 
the  sound,  and  we  were  rapidly  closing  in  upon 
him.  He  must  not  think  to  divert  us  from  our 
purpose  by  showing  us  that  our  drill,  our  dress, 
and  our  weapons  are  not  entirely  perfect  and  uni- 
form. When  the  storm  shall  be  past  he  shall  find 
us  still  Americans,  no  less  devoted  to  the  con- 
tinued union  and  prosperity  of  the  country  than 
heretofore. 

Finally,  the  Judge  invokes  against  me  the  mem- 
ory of  Clay  and  Webster.  They  were  great  men, 
and  men  of  great  deeds.  But  where  have  I  assailed 
them?  For  what  is  it  that  their  lifelong  enemy 
shall  now  make  profit  by  assuming  to  defend  them 
against  me,  their  lifelong  friend?  I  go  against  the 
repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise;  did  they  ever 
go  for  it?  They  went  for  the  Compromise  of 
1850;  did  I  ever  go  against  them?  They  were 
greatly  devoted  to  the  Union;  to  the  small  meas- 
ure of  my  ability  was  I  ever  less  so?  Clay  and 
Webster  were  dead  before  this  question  arose;  by 
what  authority  shall  our  Senator  say  they  would 
espouse  his  side  of  it  if  alive?  Mr.  Clay  was  the 
leading  spirit  in  making  the  Missouri  Compro- 
mise; is  it  very  credible  that  if  now  alive  he  would 

239 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


take  the  lead  in  the  breaking  of  it?  The  truth 
is  that  some  support  from  Whigs  is  now  a  neces- 
sity with  the  Judge,  and  for  this  it  is  that  the 
names  of  Clay  and  Webster  are  invoked.  His  old 
friends  have  deserted  him  in  such  numbers  as  to 
leave  too  few  to  live  by.  He  came  to  his  own,  and 
his  own  received  him  not;  and  lo!  he  turns  unto 
the  Gentiles. 

A  word  now  as  to  the  Judge's  desperate  as- 
sumption that  the  compromises  of  1850  had  no 
connection  with  one  another;  that  Illinois  came 
into  the  Union  as  a  slave  State,  and  some  other 
similar  ones.  This  is  no  other  than  a  bold  denial 
of  the  history  of  the  country.  If  we  do  not  know 
that  the  compromises  of  1850  were  dependent  on 
each  other;  if  we  do  not  know  that  Illinois  came 
into  the  Union  as  a  free  State,  we  do  not  know 
anything.  If  we  do  not  know  these  things,  we  do 
not  know  that  we  ever  had  a  Revolutionary  War 
or  such  a  chief  as  Washington.  To  deny  these 
things  is  to  deny  our  national  axioms — or  dog- 
mas, at  least — and  it  puts  an  end  to  all  argument. 
If  a  man  will  stand  up  and  assert,  and  repeat 
and  reassert,  that  two  and  two  do  not  make  four, 
I  know  nothing  in  the  power  of  argument  that 
can  stop  him.  I  think  I  can  answer  the  Judge  so 
long  as  he  sticks  to  the  premises;  but  when  he  flies 

240 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

from  them,  I  cannot  work  any  argument  into  the 
consistency  of  a  mental  gag  and  actually  close  his 
mouth  with  it.  In  such  a  case  I  can  only  com- 
mend him  to  the  seventy  thousand  answers  just 
in  from  Pennsylvania,  Ohio  and  Indiana. 


t6  241 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


LINCOLN  IN  PEORIA,  1832 

The  year  1832  was  a  season  of  romance  and 
adventure.  Black  Hawk  had  terrorized  the  inhabi- 
tants of  northern  Illinois — the  country  was  but 
sparsely  settled — Peoria  contained  but  twenty- 
two  buildings,  including  the  Court  House,  store 
and  blacksmith  shop.  An  Indian  agency  had  just 
been  established  and  there  was  a  branch  of  the 
American  Fur  Company  in  charge  of  John  Ham- 
lin, the  first  signer  to  the  call  for  Lincoln  to  come 
to  Peoria  and  reply  to  Judge  Douglas  on  October 
16th,  1854.  It  is  more  than  probable  that  the 
two  met  here  for  the  first  time  in  that  year 
(1832).  It  is  a  great  temptation  to  extend  our 
story  beyond  the  confines  of  Lincoln  in  Peoria, 
the  more  so  that  today  as  I  write,  the  16th  day  of 
June,  1 926,  is  the  anniversary  of  Lincoln's  muster 
out  from  the  company  of  Captain  Elijah  lies — 
ninety-four  years  ago — and  his  start  upon  the 
Peoria  trail. 

We  vision  a  tall,  gaunt,  pathetic  figure,  whose 
horse — borrowed — had  been  stolen,  trudging 
parched,  deserted  prairies  or  seeking  rest  beneath 
silent  forests.  Day  after  day  be  pursued  the  weary 
way  from  Whitewater,  Wisconsin,  by  way  of 
Dixon,  Illinois,  at  last  to  catch  a  view  of  a  beauti- 

243 


CHIEF   BLACK   HAWK    (1767-1838) 

From   an   original   oil   portrait   by   R.   M.    Sully,    painted   at 

Fortress  Monroe,  while  Black  Hawk  was  confined  there 

in   1833.    This  portrait  is  now  the  property  of 

the  State  Historical  Society  of  Wisconsin 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


ful  lake  lying  enfolded  by  wooded  hills,  a  promise 
of  Peace  and  Rest — PEORIA. 

We  transport  ourselves  on  the  wings  of  imag- 
ination back  through  the  years  to  that  eventful 
day  and  are  seated  upon  a  puncheon  bench  in  the 
solitary  store  when  Abraham  Lincoln,  then  but 
twenty-three  years  of  age,  enters.  Here  are  gath- 
ered the  hunters,  trappers  and  voyagers — yes,  and 
a  few  Indian  traders.  There  was  companionship 
which  Lincoln  loved  so  much — and  rest. 

Here  Lincoln  and  Major  John  T.  Stuart,  his 
companion  (later  his  law  partner),  weary  with 
traveling  by  foot,  purchased  a  canoe  and  departed 
from  the  shore  of  Lake  Peoria  for  Havana.  There 
the  canoe  was  sold  and  Lincoln  walked  across 
country  to  his  home  in  New  Salem  and  Stuart 
walked  to  Springfield. 


245 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

HOW  LINCOLN  AND  PEORIA  SAW 
EACH  OTHER 

How  many  times  did  Lincoln  visit  Peoria?  How 
many  Peorians  now  living  knew  him?  Where  did 
he  stay  while  here?  How  was  he  regarded  when 
a  young  man  riding  from  court  to  court  and  stop- 
ping in  Peoria  during  a  session? 

Some  of  these  questions  can  be  answered  with 
a  fair  amount  of  accuracy.  Others  can  not.  There 
is  no  doubt  but  that  Lincoln  visited  Peoria  many 
times;  that  he  tried  cases  here;  that  he  was  known 
in  Peoria  as  a  promising  young  politician  and 
lawyer  long  before  he  became  known  to  the  State 
at  large;  and  that  Peoria  was  the  scene  of  his  activi- 
ties as  an  abolitionist,  a  lawyer  and  a  politician. 
FIRST  HERE  IN  1832 

Lincoln  was  elected  to  the  legislature  of  Illinois 
in  1834,  when  Peoria  was  but  a  hamlet  just  start- 
ing into  active  growth.  The  town  had  been  for- 
mally organized  the  year  before  and  incorporated 
by  charter  from  the  State — though  the  settlement 
was  founded  in  1819  and  court  had  been  held 
here  as  early  as  1825.  There  is  no  probability  that 
Lincoln  visited  Peoria  before  the  Black  Hawk  war. 
But  there  is  every  probability  that,  during  and 
after  that  war,  he  passed  through  Peoria  at  one 

time  or  another. 

246 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


When  Lincoln  became  a  legislator,  the  county  of 
Sangamon  included  the  present  county,  Menard 
county  and  portions  of  Logan  and  Mason  coun- 
ties. Tazewell  county  adjoined  it.  Absorbed 
with  the  duties  of  legislation  and  the  politics  of  his 
own  county,  it  is  not  likely  that  he  visited  Peoria 
again  until  the  campaign  of  1840,  when  he  was  a 
presidential  elector  on  the  Whig  ticket.  During 
that  campaign  he  stumped  the  State  with  great 
vigor,  and  it  is  altogether  likely  that  he  was  at  one 
time  or  another  a  speaker  in  this  vicinity  and  a 
guest  in  Peoria — though  the  only  Peoria  paper 
published  at  the  time — the  Northwestern  Register 
and  Gazette — gives  no  record  of  his  presence. 

THE  VISIT  OF  1844 
Following  this  campaign  Lincoln  began  the 
active  practice  of  law  again  and  from  this  time  on 
it  is  certain  that  he  visited  Peoria  a  great  many 
times.  There  is  an  amusing  record  of  his  visit  to 
Peoria  in  1844: 

"William  Fisher,  a  member  of  the  Springfield, 
111.,  band  in  1844,  recalls  that  Lincoln  and  other 
townspeople  boarded  a  car  on  the  Wabash  Rail- 
road for  Meredosia,  on  their  way  to  Peoria,  where 
there  was  to  be  a  Henry  Clay  convention.  The 
motive  power  was  a  string  of  mules.    After  going 

247 


ABRAHAM,     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


ten  miles  the  mule  passenger  met  the  freight.  There 
was  nothing  else  for  the  passengers  to  do  but  to 
get  out  and  lift  their  car  off  the  single  track,  to  let 
the  freight  pass,  and  then  lift  it  on  again.  Fisher 
relates  that  Lincoln  was  one  of  the  prominent 


PEORIA  HOUSE  IN    1854 

lifters.  He  would  get  his  back  to  the  car,  let  his 
lanky  body  down  to  get  a  low  hold  and  then 
'lift  his  best/  Fisher  writes:  'He  gave  us  a  good 
example.  There  was  no  shirking  nor  feigning  on 
his  part.'  " 

WAS  BOLD  ABOLITIONIST 
At  this  time  Lincoln  was  noted  for  his  good 
humor,  his  great  strength,  his  inexhaustible  fund 

248 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


of  stories,  his  abolition  sympathies  and  his  ab- 
stinence, which  was  a  remarkable  thing  in  those 
days,  when  practically  everyone  used  whisky  as  a 
beverage.  When  he  came  to  Peoria  he  put  up  at 
the  Planters'  House,  which  afterwards  became  the 


iiiiji|liiiiiiiiiHii 


CLINTON  HOUSE  IN  1854 

Peoria  House,  and  was  located  at  the  northeast 
corner  of  the  Court  House  Square,  and  at  other 
hotels.  He  was  no  frequenter  of  the  bar  after 
court,  but  was  much  more  apt  to  be  found  in 
various  homes  about  the  city  discussing  the  aboli- 
tion movement,  with  which  he  was  even  then 
in  sympathy.  Moses  Pettengill,  a  prominent 
Peorian  of  the  time,   was  a  particular  friend  of 

249 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


Lincoln's,  and  many  of  his  nights  were  spent  at 
the  old  Pettengill  house,  which  still  stands  at 
the  corner  of  Liberty  and  Jefferson  streets,  next 
to  the  Herald-Transcript  building.  Lincoln  knew 
every  abolitionist  in  Peoria.  There  were  not  many 
of  them  either  in  those  days.  It  was  just  a  little 
dangerous  for  an  ordinary  man  of  ordinary  fight- 
ing ability  to  talk  abolition  too  loudly  in  this 
vicinity.  It  is  said  that  Lincoln  was  one  of  half  a 
dozen  men  who  dared  to  do  this  in  Peoria  in  the 
early  fifties.  John  King,  who  often  carried  Lin- 
coln's carpet  bag  to  the  hotel  when  a  boy,  is 
authority  for  the  statement  that  Lincoln  once  ad- 
dressed an  abolition  meeting  in  Peoria  in  the  late 
fifties,  just  after  the  Parmley  hall  had  been  com- 
pleted. The  address  was  begun  under  the  trees  in 
the  Court  House  Square,  but  was  interrupted  by 
rain.  Lincoln  immediately  announced  that  the 
meeting  would  be  continued  in  the  hall  and  made 
for  the  door;  but  the  owner  of  the  hall,  who  heard 
the  announcement,  beat  the  crowd  to  the  door  and, 
locking  it,  walked  away  with  the  key  in  his  pocket 

HIS  LAST  APPEARANCE 
The  debate  with  Douglas  in  1854,  in  the  Court 
House  park,  is  fully  described  elsewhere.    So  is  the 
answer  to  Douglas  in  1858,  which  was  probably 
Lincoln's  last  appearance  in  Peoria. 

250 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

Peoria  did  not  give  Lincoln  a  majority  in  the 
election  of  1860.  But  when  the  call  for  troops 
came,  the  response  was  instant  and  hearty.  There 
was  not  a  more  loyal  city  in  the  north  during  the 
war,  and  the  affection  for  Lincoln  grew  mightily 
in  the  succeeding  years.  The  Lincoln  majority 
was  overwhelming  in  1864.  When  the  news  of 
the  assassination  came,  Peoria  was  stunned.  It  had 
come  home  to  all  by  this  time  that  Lincoln  was 
not  only  president  and  emancipator,  but  a  neigh- 
bor and  friend. 


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251 


FROM  A  DAGUERREOTYPE  MADE  IN  1854 


THE  OLD  MARKET  HOUSE  AT  PEORIA,  ILL.,  IN   1854 


THE  OLD  MARKET  HOUSE 
The  old  market  house  of  my  boyhood  days — Allison's 
livery  stable,  close  by  the  bowling  alley,  the  wooden 
shutters  closed,  the  building  with  beer  kegs  in  front. 
Beyond,  the  Washington  House — Fred  Streibich,  the  pro- 
prietor, probably  back  behind  the  desk,  or  perhaps,  yes 
that's  it,  over  at  John  A.  Hudson's  grocery  and  the  market, 
for  court  is  in  session  and  Lincoln  and  a  crowd  of  jolly 
judges  and  lawyers  will  be  there.  How  they  will  feast  and 
what  rare  stories  they  will  tell!  In  front  of  the  grocery 
wild  ducks  are  piled  six  feet  high,  prairie  chickens,  wild 
turkeys  and  quail  are  there,  together  with  wild  geese  and, 
occasionally,  a  deer  may  be  seen  hanging  by  its  hind  legs. 

At  the  market  they  give  away  the  livers.  For  a  quarter 
one  may  buy  a  market  basket  full  of  spare  ribs,  tenderloins 
and  pigs'  feet.  Reynolds'  hams  cost  more,  for  they  are 
sugar  cured  over  hickory  coals  and  the  ruler  of  Germany 
buys  them  for  the  Imperial  table. 

It  is  a  picture  of  the  middle  50's.  Boats,  side-wheelers, 
from  St.  Louis  at  the  wharf  bound  for  LaSalle,  to  connect 
with  the  railroad  for  Chicago.  The  "Ocean  Wave," 
"Connecticut,"  "Gladiator,"  "Avalanche,"  "Prairie  State" 
and  "Prairie  Bird."  Farm  wagons  loaded  with  such  vege- 
tables, berries  and  melons  as  are  grown  nowhere  else  on 
earth  with  such  delicious  flavors  as  at  Peoria.  A  warmth 
comes  to  my  heart  as  I  look  upon  the  picture  and  think  that 
in  Peoria,  at  least,  Abraham  Lincoln  found  good  cheer  and 
comfort.  H.  H.  Cole,  the  artist,  made  a  daguerreotype  from 
which  this  picture  is  taken.  To  him  we  acknowledge  our 
indebtedness 


253 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


LINCOLN'S  CENTENARY  CELEBRATION 
IN  PEORIA 

From  the  Peoria  Herald  Transcript,  February   13,    1909 

Many  cities  in  Illinois  are  celebrated  as  hold- 
ing Lincoln-Douglas  debates.  Peoria  heard  a 
Lincoln-Douglas  debate,  however,  four  years  be- 
fore the  great  series  noted  in  history. 

This  fact,  so  little  known  or  remembered  that 
it  has  been  denied  by  many  old  citizens,  is  never- 
theless true  and  is  witnessed  by  a  reproduction  of 
a  note  in  Lincoln's  handwriting  referring  to  his 
meeting  with  Douglas  in  1854  in  Peoria.  It  was, 
in  fact,  at  Peoria  in  that  year  that  Lincoln  made 
his  first  formal  declarations  in  regard  to  the  slave 
question  and  began  the  fight  which  culminated  six 
years  later  in  his  election  to  the  presidency. 

The  year  1858,  during  which  time  the  famous 
seven  debates  took  place,  also  saw  a  meeting  be- 
tween the  two  men  in  Peoria.  It  was  not  a  for- 
mally scheduled  meeting.  Nevertheless  it  took 
place,  Douglas  speaking  in  the  afternoon  and  Lin- 
coln in  the  evening,  as  was  the  case  in  1854.  (Error 
— Douglas  spoke  the  day  before.    B.  C.  B.) 

CAUSE  WAS  PECULIAR 
The  cause  of  the  Peoria  meeting  of  1854  was 
peculiar.     It   is  best  explained  by   Hon.   Horace 

254 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


White,  who,  at  the  ninth  annual  meeting  of  the 
State  Historical  Society  in  Springfield,  told  of  the 
circumstances. 

At  the  time  the  country  was  in  a  ferment  over 
the  repeal  of  the  Missouri  Compromise,  which  was 
regarded  by  northern  men  as  almost  a  death  blow 
to  all  opposition  to  slavery  in  the  border  States. 
Illinois,  though  largely  tainted  with  slave  beliefs 
was  nevertheless  indignant,  and  Senator  Doug- 
las felt  called  upon  to  defend  his  course,  he 
having  introduced  the  repeal  bill.  On  the  evening 
of  September  1  he  spoke  in  Chicago.  White  was 
on  the  platform  as  a  reporter.  The  reception  was 
chilly.  There  was  no  violence,  but  the  audience 
was  distinctly  unfriendly.  Douglas  decided  to 
make  no  more  speeches  in  that  part  of  the  State 
during  the  campaign. 

TOOK  TRUMBULL'S  PLACE 

His  next  appearance  was  at  Springfield  during 
the  State  Fair  in  the  large  hall  of  the  State  House, 
October  3.  By  this  time  the  Republicans  were 
aroused  and  Senator  Lyman  Trumbull  was  slated 
to  reply  to  Douglas.  For  some  unknown  reason 
he  could  not  appear.  Lincoln,  a  Springfield  citizen 
and  then  becoming  very  prominent  in  the  State, 
was  asked  to  take  the  place  of  Trumbull.  He  did 
not  reply  on  the  3rd,  but  on  the  4th  he  did  make 

255 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


a  speech.  It  was  virtually  his  first  appearance  as  a 
candidate  for  senator  in  opposition  to  Douglas.  It 
was  not  thoroughly  prepared  and  was  evidently 
only  an  introductory  speech,  for  by  arrangement 
it  was  repeated  twelve  days  later  in  Peoria,  on 
October  16,  1854.  Here  Douglas  and  Lincoln 
spoke.  Douglas  spoke  in  the  afternoon  and  occu- 
pied three  hours  of  time.  Following  him  Lincoln 
asked  for  an  adjournment  until  after  supper.  It 
was  granted,  and  then  came  the  speech  which  out- 
lined the  great  emancipator's  position  on  the  slav- 
ery question  for  the  first  time.  Mr.  White,  who 
heard  this  speech,  declares  that  it  was  superior  to 
Webster's  famous  reply  to  Hayne  in  the  United 
States  Senate. 

Mr.  White  speaks  of  Lincoln's  characteristic 
Kentucky  accent  and  also  of  the  pronounced  effect 
which  the  speech  had  upon  Douglas,  who  ap- 
proached Lincoln  after  the  debate  and  proposed 
Quits.  This  offer  was  accepted,  but  was  broken  by 
Douglas  afterwards  and  Lincoln  continued  fol- 
lowing him  over  the  State  answering  his  speeches. 

B.  C.  Bryner  published  in  the  Herald-Tran- 
script of  October  22,  1908,  the  following  account 
of  the  1854  debate: 

SPOKE  AT  OLD  COURT  HOUSE 

The    old    Peoria    court    house    fronted    upon 

256 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

Adams  street,  and  the  entrance  to  the  court  room, 
which  was  on  the  second  floor,  was  by  means  of 
outside  stairways,  terminating  upon  a  portico,  and 
from  this  portico  these  great  men  delivered  their 
addresses  to  the  assembled  thousands.  How  vividly 
the  picture  comes  to  mind  of  farmers  upon  horse- 
back and  in  gaily  decorated  wagons  upon  which 
were  borne  hickory  saplings  with  the  leaves  still 
remaining  at  the  top  to  which  was  fastened  the 
American  flag.  Upon  one  of  these  wagons,  or 
floats,  were  a  number  of  young  girls  in  white 
dresses  with  sashes  across  their  breasts,  upon  which 
were  the  names  of  the  States  then  in  the  Union. 
These  girls  remained  all  night  at  my  mother's 
house,  sleeping  upon  the  floor,  upon  which  she  had 
placed  mattresses  and  blankets.  Probably  it  was 
the  girls  and  their  night  frolicking  that  served  to 
fix  this  occasion  so  firmly  in  my  memory. 

An  ardent  Democrat,  Stephen  A.  Douglas  ap- 
peared to  my  boyish  imagination  as  the  invincible 
"little  giant,"  and  when  I  beheld  Abraham  Lin- 
coln I  could  hardly  picture  him  as  the  Jack  in 
plume  and  doublet  who  was  to  overcome  my  hero. 

The  addresses  of  these  two  men  were  not  pre- 
cisely in  the  nature  of  debate.  A  newspaper  of  the 
period  says  as  follows:  "On  Monday,  October  16, 
Senator  Douglas,  by  appointment,  addressed  a 
17  257 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

large  audience  at  Peoria.  When  he  closed  he  was 
greeted  with  six  hearty  cheers;  and  the  band  in 
attendance  played  a  stirring  air.  The  crowd  then 
began  to  call  for  Lincoln,  who,  as  Judge  Douglas 
had  announced,  was,  by  agreement,  to  answer 
him." 

That  the  atmosphere  was  tense  and  that  intan- 
gible '  'something  in  the  air"  whose  influence  is 
felt,  yet  scarcely  understood,  must  have  affected 
me  with  the  others.  When  four  years  later  Mr. 
Lincoln  was  engaged  in  the  memorable  debates  of 
1858,  his  position  was  constantly  being  mis- 
stated and  he  made  use  of  his  remarks  upon  the 
occasion  of  which  I  write  to  clearly  define  his  opin- 
ions upon  the  subjects  then  occupying  the  public 
attention. 

JUDGE  McCULLOUGH'S  ACCOUNT  OF 
LINCOLN'S  SPEECH  IN  1858 
Judge  David  McCullough,  in  his  splendid  his- 
tory of  Peoria  County,  says: 

' 'Never  in  the  history  of  Peoria  County  have 
its  people  had  the  privilege  of  hearing  so  many 
and  such  masterly  speeches  as  during  the  cam- 
paign of  1858.  Within  a  radius  of  fifty  miles 
Mr.  Lincoln  spoke  at  least  five  times,  Douglas 
four,  Carl  Schurz  once,  Schuyler  Colfax  once, 
Judge  Kellogg  a   number  of   times,    with  other 

258 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

speakers  nearly  every  night,  who,  in  ordinary 
times,  would  shine  as  bright  political  stars.  Dur- 
ing that  campaign,  from  July  9  until  the  day  of 
the  election,  a  period  of  just  one  hundred  days, 
Sundays  excluded,  Mr.  Douglas  made  one  hundred 
and  thirty  speeches.  Thenceforth  the  battle  was  to 
be  with  the  administration  wing  of  his  party, 
while  Mr.  Lincoln  fast  rose  in  the  minds  of  the 
people  to  the  front  rank  of  living  statesmen." 

An  acrid  bitterness  seems  to  enter  into  the  old 
Transcript's  account  of  the  speech  made  by  Doug- 
las the  day  before  that  made  by  Lincoln  on  July 
19,  1858.  A  few  sarcastic  truths  may  be  pardoned, 
believing,  as  its  best  thinkers  and  writers  did, 
that  Douglas  was  doomed.  Throughout  the  cam- 
paign, and  particularly  the  debates,  the  speeches  of 
the  two  men  were  given  equal  prominence.  They 
were  printed  on  consecutive  days  and  sometimes  to 
the  exclusion  of  other  news,  so  widespread  was  the 
interest  and  so  eager  were  subscribers  to  read  the 
progress  of  the  discussion.  Douglas  made  no  big 
speech  in  Peoria  either,  except  the  one  delivered  the 
day  before  that  given  by  Lincoln,  and  the  Tran- 
script's account  of  that  is  interesting  in  the 
extreme. 

Commenting  upon  the  speech  and  the  effect  it 
had  upon  the  great  crowd  which  heard  it  the  fol- 

259 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

lowing  is  given,  quoted  directly  from  the  files  of 
the  Daily  Transcript,  a  Lincoln  newspaper. 
THE  DOUGLAS  DEMONSTRATION 

"Well,  the  Hon.  Ajax  Dunderguns  has  been  in 
town,  delivered  his  speech  and  taken  his  departure. 
There  was  a  crowd  of  people — and  such  a  crowd. 
It  was  as  solemn  and  sullen  as  if  it  had  been  called 
out  to  attend  a  funeral.  There  was  no  life,  no 
energy  and  no  enthusiasm  in  it.  We  never  in  our 
life  witnessed  a  popular  gathering  so  utterly  de- 
void of  animation.  The  little  Senator's  most  elo- 
quent and  earnestly  delivered  passages  were  re- 
ceived by  the  audience  with  sullen  silence.  A  large 
crowd  was  gotten  out — variously  estimated  at 
from  three  to  five  thousand  persons — just  as  large 
crowds  are  always  gotten  out — by  extensive  ad- 
vertising and  a  liberal  use  of  money.  Extra  trains 
were  run  on  all  the  railroads  and  passengers 
brought  in  at  half  price.  Judge  Douglas  spoke  at 
Lewistown,  and  was  brought  up  to  Elmwood  in  a 
carriage  Tuesday  evening,  where  it  was  arranged 
that  he  should  stop  until  yesterday  morning,  when 
he  would  be  met  by  a  deputation  of  his  friends 
from  this  city. 

"At  Elmwood  the  distinguished  demagogue's 
arrival  and  presence  created  no  noise  nor  display, 
and  people  seemed  to  know  little  about  his  ar- 

260 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


rangements,  and  cared  less.  We  chanced  to  call  at 
Montgomery's  hotel,  a  few  minutes  after  his  arri- 
val, and  found  him  quietly  smoking  upon  the 
veranda  and  making  himself  agreeable  to  several 
admiring  Locofocos.  Until  the  arrival  of  the  spe- 
cial train  from  this  city  at  about  10  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  not  more  than  a  dozen  of  the  goodly 
citizens  of  Elmwood  troubled  themselves  to  call 
upon  him. 

"The  special  train  brought  with  it  about  sixty 
gentlemen  from  this  city,  who  were  escorted  to 
the  judge's  hotel  quarters  by  a  band  of  music. 
About  a  hundred  of  the  citizens  of  Elmwood, 
more  than  two-thirds  of  whom,  we  are  told,  were 
Republicans,  followed  the  Peoria  delegation  to  the 
hotel,  where  Judge  Douglas  was  brought  out  by 
Captain  Moss  of  this  city.  Ten  or  twelve  men 
made  an  abortive  attempt  to  cheer,  after  which 
the  judge  took  off  his  hat  and  excused  himself 
from  saying  anything  on  account  of  a  bad  cold. 

'The  company  then  moved  down  to  the  train, 
where,  after  waiting  for  the  arrival  of  the  train 
from  Galesburg,  which  came  in  well  loaded,  the 
cars  started  and  in  due  course  of  time  reached  the 
depot  in  this  city.  Here  a  large  concourse  of  people 
had  gathered  ready  to  receive  the  Senator,  which 
was  done  amid  a  tolerable  display  of  banners. 

261 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

"The  crowd  was  formed  into  a  procession  and 
after  marching  through  several  of  the  principal 
streets  brought  up  in  the  Court  House  square. 
After  waiting  for  about  half  an  hour  the  president 
of  the  day  appeared  upon  the  platform  and  an- 
nounced that  Judge  Douglas  would  be  welcomed 
to  Peoria  by  Washington  Cockle,  Esq.  Mr. 
Cockle's  speech  was  chiefly  remarkable  for  three 
things — for  its  egotism,  for  its  silly  and  sicken- 
ing man-worship,  and  for  the  impudence  and 
audacity  displayed  in  associating  the  name  and 
acts  of  the  arch-traitor,  Stephen  A.  Douglas,  with 
those  of  the  immortal  Clay  and  Webster.  Such  a 
connection  comes  with  an  exceedingly  ill  grace 
from  the  man  who,  it  will  be  remembered  by  many 
old  Whig  residents  of  Peoria,  traduced  Clay  and 
vilified  Webster  while  they  were  living.  The  files 
of  an  old  Democratic  paper  once  published  in  Peo- 
ria and  edited  by  Mr.  Cockle  show  how  much  he 
thought  of  these  noble  statesmen  when  they  were 
on  the  stage  of  action.  Bah!  Mr.  Cockle,  trump 
up  any  other  capital  for  your  idol  that  you  choose, 
but  for  the  sake  of  the  memories  of  the  sainted 
dead,  for  the  sake  of  decency,  and  for  your  own 
sake,  don't  have  the  effrontery  to  stand  before  an 
intelligent  audience  and  undertake  to  make  the 
name  of  Stephen  A.   Douglas  respectable  at  the 

262 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

expense  of  the  men  whom  Douglas  and  you  both 
hated  and  reviled  and  traduced  until  the  day  of 
their  deaths. 

"Of  Mr.  Douglas'  speech  we  do  not  propose  to 
speak  this  morning,  but  shall  take  another  occa- 
sion to  give  an  opinion  of  it.  He  spoke  about  two 
hours  to  an  audience  who  gave  him  scarcely  a  cheer 
or  a  manifestation  of  applause,  and  then  the  crowd 
dispersed." 

NOTE:  No  better  illustration  can  be  given  of  the  intensity  of  the 
bitterness  that  prevailed  at  this  period  (1858)  and  throughout  the 
Civil  War  than  the  above  from  the  pen  of  a  reporter.  After  the 
firing  upon  Sumter,  the  followers  of  Douglas  flocked  to  the  support 
of  the  Administration.  Amongst  them  were  Washington  Cockle, 
Robert  G.  Ingersoll  and  Col.  John  Bryner,  the  writer's  father  (all 
Democrats)  ,  and  they  were  the  victims  of  a  hatred  from  their  former 
political  associates  unparalleled  since  the  nation's  birth.  No  more 
earnest  workers  for  the  cause  of  the  Union  can  be  found  than  were 
Washington  Cockle  and  his  family — the  women  of  his  household 
were  foremost  among  the  noble  women  who  furnished  aid  to  the  boys 
in  the  field.  (B.  C.  B.) 

LINCOLN  IN  PEORIA,  JULY  1  9TH,  1858 
In  its  issue  of  July  19,  1858,  heading  the 
local  column  which  the  Transcript  called  "Per- 
sonal" appeared  this  paragraph:  "Hon.  A.  Lin- 
coln and  Hon.  Wm.  Kellogg  arrived  in  town  last 
evening.  Long  Abe  will  mount  his  high-heeled 
shoes  today  and  completely  take  the  starch  out  of 
the  little  demagogue." 

On  August  3rd,  two  weeks  preceding  his  speech, 

263 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


the  paper  has  the  following  paragraph  under  the 
heading  "Fun  Ahead"  :  "The  Hon.  Abraham 
Lincoln  will  positively  speak  in  this  city  on 
Thursday,  the  19th  inst.   Turn  out  to  hear  him." 

The  Transcript's  account  of  the  speech  and  the 
demonstration  is  as  follows: 

"The  political  elements  in  central  Illinois  are  be- 
ginning to  get  stirred  up.  Yesterday  the  honest  and 
sturdy  yeomen  of  the  surrounding  country  poured 
into  town  by  thousands  to  hear  Hon.  Abraham 
Lincoln  expose  the  sophistries  of  the  little  dema- 
gogue and  they  were  well  repaid  for  their  trou- 
ble. The  Republicans  used  no  extra  exertions  to 
attract  a  crowd  upon  the  occasion;  they  contribut- 
ed no  money  to  run  special  trains,  to  purchase 
powder  to  fire  cannons  with,  or  to  pay  for  music. 
These  clap-trap  appliances  were  left  to  the  Doug- 
lasites.  The  Republicans  don't  propose  to  spend 
any  money  simply  for  the  purpose  of  making  a 
great  noise  and  for  display.  They  believe  that  all 
that  is  needed  to  crown  their  cause  with  success  is 
to  spread  the  documents  among  the  people  and 
give  them  opportunity  to  judge  of  the  merits  of 
Democracy  and  Republicanism  as  expounded  by 
the  leaders. 

"Nothing  whatever  was  done  to  get  out  a  crowd 
of  people  except  to  make  public  the  announce- 

264 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


ment  that  Mr.  Lincoln  would  be  here  and  speak. 
He  came  and  so  did  the  people,  and  when  the  hour 
of  two  o'clock  arrived  the  Court  House  square  was 
thronged  with  the  intelligent  and  enthusiastic 
masses.  The  meeting  was  really  not  quite  so  large 
as  the  one  on  the  day  previous.  But  whatever  it 
lacked  in  numbers  was  more  than  made  up  in 
enthusiasm.  Between  the  Douglas  and  Lincoln 
gatherings  there  was  a  marked  contrast.  The  for- 
mer was  altogether  devoid  of  enthusiasm,  while 
the  latter  was  alive  with  spirit  and  confidence. 

"Hon.  James  Knox  having  been  called  to  pre- 
side over  the  meeting  came  forward  amid  a  hearty 
round  of  applause  and  introduced  Mr.  Lincoln  to 
the  audience  in  a  short  and  appropriate  speech. 
When  'Long  Abe'  stepped  out  upon  the  platform 
the  welkin  echoed  with  boisterous  shouts  of  en- 
thusiasm. 

"Mr.  Lincoln's  argument  was  calm,  convincing 
and  complete.  There  was  hardly  a  word  wriggled 
in  simply  for  buncombe,  but  everything  that  he 
said  bore  the  stamp  of  truthfulness  and  candor. 
His  manner  of  disposing  of  Judge  Douglas'  coarse 
epithets  was  admirable  and  left  an  excellent  im- 
pression upon  the  audience.  He  remarked  that  he 
did  not  choose  to  bandy  epithets  with  Douglas, 
nor  did  he  intend  to  be  provoked  into  a  quarrel 

265 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


with  him  for  the  obvious  reason  that  there  was 
nothing  to  be  gained  by  such  a  course.  He  intended 
to  meet  Douglas  face  to  face  in  debate,  shortly, 
when  it  was  quite  probable  that  the  differences 
between  them  would  be  adjusted  and  an  under- 
standing upon  such  matters  arrived  at.  In  the 
meantime  whatever  statements  he  had  made  con- 
cerning Mr.  Douglas'  position  or  in  relation  to 
his  own  position  he  proposed  to  prove.  And  he 
did  prove  them  entirely  to  the  satisfaction,  it  was 
evident,  of  the  vast  audience. 

"Mr.  Lincoln's  exposition  of  the  sophistries  of 
Douglas  was  thorough  and  overwhelming.  He 
held  the  'little  giant'  up  to  the  contempt  and  ridi- 
cule of  his  hearers  and  charged  back  upon  him 
with  splendid  effect.  We  shall  take  occasion  to 
speak  of  some  of  his  principal  points  hereafter. 

"The  meeting  was  a  glorious  one  from  first 
to  last,  and  passed  off  to  the  entire  satisfaction  of 
all.  We  cannot  but  believe  that  it  will  have  an 
important  effect  in  awakening  fresh  interest  and 
enthusiasm  throughout  this  region." 


266 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


THE  SOLEMNITIES  IN  PEORIA 
Particularly  impressive  were  the  memorial  serv- 
ices held  in  this  city.    The  account  in  the  Peoria 
Transcript  is  published  in  full  as  follows: 

Never  in  the  history  of  our  city  was  there  such 
widespread  feeling  of  sorrow,  such  a  deep-seated 
seriousness  of  speech  and  action,  as  was  manifested 
in  our  streets  yesterday.  The  morning  opened  with 
a  fall  of  rain  and  the  day  was  hot  and  sultry.  The 
streets  had  the  aspect  of  a  Sabbath,  except  for  the 
crowd  that  filled  them  to  overflowing.  At  about 
1 1  o'clock  the  churches  were  opened  and  speedily 
filled.  Services  were  held  until  1  o'clock.  There 
was  a  full  attendance  everywhere.  At  about  half 
past  two,  Spencer's  band,  in  the  Court  House 
square,  commenced  playing  the  mournful  "Dead 
March,"  following  it  with  several  dirges.  The 
yard  was  speedily  filled  with  an  attentive  audience 
to  hear  the  speaking.  If  it  had  been  in  electioneer- 
ing times  the  number  present  would  probably  have 
been  put  at  20,000.  There  were  not  fewer  than 
5,000  people  in  the  square,  many  stood  outside, 
and  some  sat  in  their  carriages,  in  the  street.  At 
the  commencement  of  the  speaking  the  air  was 
warm  and  sultry;  the  wind,  however,  sprang  up, 
and  towards  the  last  it  was  quite  comfortable.  The 
meeting  was  opened  by  the  president,  Hon.  Wash- 

267 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


ington  Cockle,  who,  in  a  brief  and  eloquent  ad- 
dress, stated  the  object  of  the  meeting.  He  said: 
Never  since  the  days  of  Washington  have  we  been 
called  to  mourn  a  chief  so  valued. 

The  Nation  laments  the  loss  of  her  chief  magis- 
trate; Illinois  mourns  her  beloved  son;  but  it  is 
not  for  us  to  question  the  decrees  of  Providence. 

REV.  MCLAREN  SPEAKS 
Mr.  Cockle  then  introduced  the  Rev.  M.  Stev- 
ens, who  offered  up  a  short  prayer.  The  Rev.  Mr, 
McLaren  was  then  introduced.  He  did  not  come 
to  make  an  address,  but  had  been  asked  to  repeat 
the  few  thoughts  he  had  delivered  the  previous 
Sunday,  ''When  the  Angel  of  the  Apocalypse 
opened  the  sixth  seal,  there  was  silence  in  heaven 
for  a  space  of  half  an  hour."  So  in  moments  of 
unutterable  anguish  and  sorrow,  the  soul  stands 
still  under  its  weight  of  grief. 

We  have  been  awe-struck  for  the  last  few  days 
at  the  dreadful  tiding,  "Abraham  Lincoln  is  no 
more."  It  seems  some  vision  of  terror  through 
which  we  have  passed — some  terrible  nightmare 
from  which  we  shall  awake — but  it  is  too  true. 
The  man  who  was  honored  throughout  all  the 
world,  the  man  who  only  needed  to  know  what 
was  right  in  order  to  do  it;  who  ruled  without  op- 

268 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

pression  and  triumphed  without  exultation;  the 
man  whose  life  was  the  true  type  of  American  char- 
acter; wise  and  honest,  far-seeing  and  simple,  is 
dead.  Great  God!  Can  it  be!  Can  it  be  that  this 
great  sacrifice  of  greatness  and  goodness  was  neces- 
sary in  order  to  bring  us  out  of  bondage?  Yet,  so  it 
seems.  It  seems  that  the  Almighty  would  make  this 
treasure  of  union  more  precious  in  the  sight  of  this 
people,  for  who  could  not  have  been  spared  better 
than  our  great  chief?  Every  history  records  the 
successful  career  of  Charles  Martel,  Gustavus 
Adolphus  and  Washington  as  benefactors  of  man- 
kind; it  will  throw  a  double  halo  of  glory  over 
the  name  of  Abraham  Lincoln. 

OF  LINCOLN'S  RELIGION 
There  are  the  best  reasons  for  thinking  that  his 
religion  was  something  better  than  Deism.  His 
voice  has  often  been  heard  asking  the  blessing  of 
heaven  upon  him.  While  standing  over  the  graves 
of  our  brave  soldiers  at  Gettysburg,  he  felt  that 
there  is  One  who  "maketh  even  the  wrath  of  man 
to  praise  Him,"  and  to  Him  he  bowed  his  soul  in 
submission.  Who  can  say  that  when  he  lay  there 
last  Friday  with  the  brains  oozing  from  his  skull, 
and  his  right  hand  nervously  twitching,  his  soul 
was  not  like  the  martyr  Stephen,  already  behold- 
ing the  glories  of  a  better  land?    As  we  have  so 

269 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


often  obeyed  his  injunction  to  look  aloft,  why 
ought  we  not  to  follow  him  there  where  he  has  a 
better  crown  than  any  earth  can  bestow  while  our 
victory  is  turned  into  mourning?  The  first  mourner 
is  the  nation,  today.  Is  there  a  crime  more  accursed 
than  assassination?  There  have  been  tyrants  re- 
moved from  earth  by  the  hand  of  the  assassin's 
dagger.  History  strives  to  palliate  the  act.  But  in 
the  history  of  the  earth  there  is  no  parallel  to  this. 
We  hope  that  the  strong  arm  of  justice  will  over- 
take him  and  praying  only  that  God  will  save  his 
soul.  Booth  is  a  type  of  slavery.  His  act  of  the 
14th  of  April,  1865,  is  a  finale  of  the  act  of  the 
14th  of  April,  1841. 

One  of  the  marvelous  things  of  our  time  is  the 
conciliatory  spirit  we  are  showing  towards  our 
foes.  We  have  been  so  loath  to  credit  the  bitter 
antagonism  which  the  South  has  cherished  to- 
wards the  North  for  forty  years.  Conciliation  is 
good,  Christlike;  but  only  good,  however,  when 
it  meets  and  induces  a  spirit  of  conciliation  in 
others. 

You  can't  tame  a  tiger.  You  must  chain  him; 
and  there  are  those  of  our  foes  who  are  so  much 
like  tigers  that  they  must  be  ground  down  into  the 
dust  by  the  iron  heel  of  Justice.  Let  there  be  no 
more  of  this  sickly  sentimentalism.    Let  the  inno- 

270 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


cent  be  spared,  but  let  the  implacable  be  driven 
into  submission.  Let  them  be  met  with  the  olive 
branch  when  they  lay  aside  the  revolver  and  dirk. 

RESOLUTIONS  ADOPTED 

The  following  resolutions  were  then  read  and 
unanimously  accepted: 

Whereas,  It  has  pleased  Almighty  God  to 
afflict  this  nation  in  the  death  of  Abraham  Lin- 
coln, the  President  of  the  United  States,  by  the 
hand  of  an  assassin;  and, 

WHEREAS,  A  crime  so  atrocious  fills  our  mind 
with  horror  at  the  wickedness  of  man,  and  with 
awe  at  the  mysterious  ways  of  Providence;  there- 
fore, let  it  be 

RESOLVED,  That  with  reverence  and  humilia- 
tion, we  bow  to  the  will  of  God,  confessing  our 
manifold  sins  before  him,  and  receiving  this  dis- 
pensation of  His  Providence  as  a  just  chastisement 
for  our  frequent  departures  from  His  ways,  and 
our  forgetfulness  of  His  word  and  commandment. 

RESOLVED,  That  we  view  with  inexpressible 
horror  the  assassination  of  Abraham  Lincoln, 
chief  magistrate  of  the  nation. 

RESOLVED,  That  the  violent  death  of  the  presi- 
dent is  a  calamity  of  the  greatest  magnitude,  rob- 

271 


ABRAHAM.     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


bing  us  of  a  kind  and  faithful  friend,  our  State  of 
its  most  illustrious  citizen,  and  the  nation  of  its 
appointed  head,  a  profound  statesman  and  pure 
patriot. 

Resolved,  That  our  late  beloved  president,  by 
the  gentleness,  kindness  and  purity  of  his  private 
life,  his  long  and  laborious  services  in  the  cause  of 
justice  and  humanity  previous  to  his  elevation  to 
the  chief  magistrate  of  the  nation,  and  by  the  irre- 
proachable integrity  of  his  public  life,  his  single- 
ness of  purpose,  his  unwearied  zeal,  his  faith,  his 
patience  and  his  hope  in  performing  his  duties. 

RESOLVED,  That,  in  this,  our  national  disaster, 
we  reverently  leave  the  destiny  of  the  Republic  to 
the  All-seeing  wisdom  of  the  Supreme  Ruler  of  the 
universe,  praying  him  to  have  it  in  His  holy  keep- 
ing. 

RESOLVED,  That,  trusting  in  divine  help,  we 
do,  once  more,  solemnly  and  irrevocably  pledge 
ourselves  and  all  that  we  have  to  the  sacred  cause 
in  which  our  faithful  leader  fell  a  martyr;  and 
that,  as  it  has  been  our  privilege  to  stand  by  the 
constituted  authorities  of  the  land,  under  the  ad- 
ministration of  Abraham  Lincoln,  while  opposing 
an  unholy  Rebellion  for  four  years  past,  so  we 
pledge  ourselves  to  support  and  sustain  its  authori- 

272 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PBORIA,     ILLINOIS 

ties,  under  the  administration  of  Andrew  John- 
son, that  now  succeeds  until  the  majesty  of  out- 
raged law  shall  be  vindicated  in  every  portion  of 
this  land. 

RESOLVED,  That  we  are  admonished  anew  of 
the  desperate  nature  of  the  enemy  we  have  been 
fighting  for  the  last  four  years;  and  that  the  honor 
of  the  nation's  name  and  the  safety  of  the  nation's 
life  forbid  that  we  should  parley  with  treason  or 
compromise  with  slavery. 

Resolved,  That  we  hold  the  accursed  system 
of  human  slavery  directly  responsible  before  God 
and  man  for  this  atrocious  crime,  and  that,  hence- 
forth, since  it  has  raised  its  bloody  hand  so  high  at 
the  nation's  heart,  no  man  can  sympathize  with 
that  system,  or  excuse  the  rebellion  it  engendered 
and  be  guiltless  of  his  brother's  blood. 

RESOLVED,  That  in  the  act  which  struck  down 
our  president,  we  recognize  the  same  spirit  which 
has  for  years,  in  the  slave  States,  hunted  man  with 
bloodhounds,  slain  them  with  the  pistol  and 
bowie-knife,  and  hanged  them  to  the  branches  of 
wayside  trees  for  no  other  crime  than  the  expres- 
sion of  opinion;  which  four  years  ago  aimed  a 
deadly  blow  at  the  life  of  the  nation  itself;  which, 
filling  this  war  with  innumerable  atrocities,  has 
is  273 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


made  it  a  dark  spot  on  the  page  of  history,  which 
murdered  Major  General  McCook  while  riding 
helpless  in  an  ambulance,  burned  the  peaceful  city 
of  Lawrence  and  slaughtered  a  hundred  defense- 
less inhabitants,  shot  in  cold  blood  an  entire  com- 
pany of  Union  troops  after  they  surrendered,  on 
the  North  Missouri  railroad,  massacred  the  garri- 
son at  Fort  Pillow  and  shot,  froze,  tortured  and 
starved  to  death  sixty  thousand  prisoners  of  war 
at  Andersonville,  Florence,  Salisbury  and  Libby 
Prison. 

Resolved,  That  we  tender  to  the  family  of  the 
deceased  president  our  profoundest  sympathy  in 
this  their  great  affliction. 

RESOLVED,  That  we  extend  to  the  Hon.  Wil- 
liam H.  Seward  our  deep  sympathy  in  the  assault 
made  upon  his  person,  rendering  our  profound 
gratitude  to  God  for  sparing  his  life  from  the  knife 
of  the  assassin,  and  trusting  that  he  may  be  speed- 
ily restored  to  health  and  the  discharge  of  his 
public  duties. 

COLONEL   INGERSOLL   SPEAKS 

Mr.  Ingersoll  was  then  introduced.   Standing  in 

the  presence  of  death  on  the  threshold  of  the  great 

unknown,   it  was  fitting  that  he  should  declare 

that  he  did  not  mourn  for  Lincoln  any  more  than 

274 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


he  did  for  any  dead  soldier  of  the  Union.  He  did 
not.  He  did  not  sympathize  with  the  widow  of 
the  president  any  more  than  he  did  for  the  widow 
who  waits  for  her  husband's  returning  footsteps, 
and  will  await  them  until  the  earth  closes  over  her 
form.  The  assassination  of  President  Lincoln  is 
among  the  least,  not  the  greatest,  crimes  that  slav- 
ery has  committed. 

Selling  women,  whipping  them,  robbing  them, 
and  heaping  upon  them  every  cruelty  that  can  be 
imagined  is  a  greater  crime  than  to  assassinate  a 
man. 

It  is  a  greater  crime  to  uphold  the  perpetrator 
of  such  acts  than  it  would  be  today  to  say,  "I 
believe  Booth  to  have  been  right. "  The  Confed- 
eracy did  a  greater  crime  than  this  when  she  fired 
upon  Sumter,  because  that  act  involved  all  that 
has  followed.  Every  one  of  our  friends  who  has 
been  lost  in  the  war  has  sacrificed  just  as  much 
as  Lincoln  did  when  he  breathed  his  last.  The 
crimes  of  slavery  are  greater  than  these. 

SCORES  REBEL  SYMPATHIZERS 
The  man  who  went  down  South  to  defend  the 
old  flag,  under  which  the  southern  States  had  ac- 
cumulated wealth  and  power,  who,  having  been 
taken  prisoner,  has  been  starved  until  he  becomes 
a  driveling  idiot,  and  yet  hundreds  and  thousands 

275 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

of  men  up  north  defend  the  men  who  did  this 
The  crimes  of  these  men  are  greater  than  assassina- 
tion. Some  of  these  men  live  in  Peoria.  (I  want 
no  applause,  the  occasion  is  too  solemn  for  it.)  It 
has  been  said  that  this  great  crime  is  providential. 
He  did  not  believe  it.  Assassination  is  contrary  to 
the  will  and  the  express  command  of  the  Most 
High,  but  he  did  not  believe  that  the  laws  of  the 
universe  are  such  that  no  good  can  result  to  the 
evil-doer.  Good  may  spring  from  evil,  and  ever 
will,  but  not  to  the  perpetrator.  It  seems  as  if  it 
always  takes  martyrdom  to  endear  truth  to  the 
human  heart.  The  great  republic  has  been  cement- 
ed by  the  blood  of  her  patriots.  Patriotism  itself 
has  been  made  sacred  by  the  blood  of  her  heroes. 
Christ  illustrated  and  endeared  every  virtue  to  the 
human  heart  by  religion.  We  will  think  better  of 
patriotism  for  the  blood  shed.  Lincoln's  blood, 
smote  down  as  he  was,  will  cement  the  founda- 
tion of  this  government,  and  the  great  principle  of 
human  liberty  will  be  advanced.  Human  liberty 
is  the  basis  of  every  great  and  good  end  itself.  We 
do  not  fight  to  preserve  the  government  alone,  but 
fight  to  preserve  this  government  in  order  to  pre- 
serve liberty  through  the  government.  Liberty  is 
greater  than  all.  The  right  or  wrong  of  any  man's 
life  has  not  been  able  to  influence  the  world  for 

276 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


any  great  length  of  time.    The  principles  of  the 
Almighty  are  eternal — they  govern  the  universe. 

A  TOUCHING  TRIBUTE 
The  speaker  went  on  to  say  that  we  had  nursed 
a  viper  in  our  bosom — the  viper  of  slavery.  It 
has  raised  its  head  and  struck  down  the  president 
of  the  United  States,  and  as  long  as  he  had 
strength  he  was  going  to  fight  that  viper.  He  was 
not  going  to  eulogize  Lincoln.  There  was  a  prin- 
ciple greater  than  he  that  assassinated  him.  When 
the  war  broke  out  he  thought  the  president  was 
too  slow,  but  Lincoln  had  the  sense  to  see  that  he 
couldn't  lead  thirty  millions  of  people.  Had  some 
brilliant  genius  been  in  the  chair,  he  would  have 
gone  beyond  the  people  into  a  despotism  or  found- 
ered the  Ship  of  State  forever,  but  Lincoln  went 
right  on,  and  all  at  once  the  armies  of  the  enemy 
began  to  waver  and  fall.  Grant  and  Sherman, 
Farragut  and  Sheridan,  with  Lincoln  at  their  head, 
marched  on  until  Richmond  is  ours.  The  speaker 
knew  when  he  heard  the  bell  toll  in  the  Congre- 
gational church  the  other  day  (and  the  bell  of  the 
church  tolls  when  there's  victory)  that  the  old 
apostle  of  liberty,  Mark  M.  Aiken,  was  at  the  bell 
rope  and  the  war  was  over  at  last.  Lincoln  had 
opened  the  door  of  reconciliation.    What  shall  we 

277 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


do?  Shall  we  still  offer  them  the  same  terms?' 
Forbid  it,  Almighty  God!  Shall  we  say,  Come 
back,  take  the  reins  of  the  government  and  run  it  as 
you  did  before?  He  was  opposed  to  giving  a  rebel- 
lious state  a  vote  on  either  side  until  they  repent. 
He  thought  that  the  rebels  were  under  their  feet, 
and  wouldn't  shake  hands  with  them  or  any  of 
their  friends  in  the  north  when  they  come  around 
the  coffin  of  Lincoln  with  their  crocodile  tears.  He 
would  receive  them  as  foes.  He  thought  that  if 
they  had  been  false  foes,  they  will  not  suddenly 
be  true  now.  The  men  who  have  stayed  by  Lincoln 
four  years  are  abundantly  able  to  put  down  the 
rest  of  the  rebellion.  He  didn't  want  any  one  to 
come  in  at  the  eleventh  hour  unless  they  were 
going  to  stay  the  rest  of  the  day. 

LINCOLN  ALWAYS  TRUE 
What  should  we  say  more  of  Lincoln,  unless  it 
was  that  he  had  always  been  true;  that  having  as 
much  power  as  any  potentate  ever  had,  he  had 
never  abused  that  power;  the  master  of  guns  and 
bayonets,  he  never  had  wronged  the  poorest,  but 
had  always  respected  their  rights.  He  didn't  believe 
that  the  same  thing  could  be  said  of  any  other  man 
that  ever  lived  under  the  same  circumstances,  and 
yet  he  has  been  called  a  tyrant,  and  this  idea  had 
led  to  his  assassination.   The  speaker  declared  it  to 

278 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


be  an  established  principle  that  we  always  admired 
men  who  do  any  good  for  the  human  race.  He 
admired  the  men  who  obtained  the  Magna  Charta, 
the  men  who  brought  about  the  French  Revolu 
tion  and  the  American  Revolution;  but  to  him 
that  day  of  September  on  which  he  issued  his 
Proclamation  of  Emancipation  was  the  sublimest 
day  that  the  sun  ever  looked  down  upon  in  Ameri- 
ca, and  when  the  emancipation  took  effect,  on  the 
first  day  of  January,  he  thought  it  the  crowning 
point  in  Lincoln's  history.  Lincoln  was,  in  his 
view,  the  Great  Defender  of  the  Republic,  and  the 
name  of  that  defender,  he  believed,  would  be  the 
first  on  the  roll  of  fame.  Washington  was  the  sec- 
ond. He  went  on  to  say  that  Washington  had 
established  the  country  when  it  was  weak,  but  Lin- 
coln had  saved  the  country  when  it  was  the  most 
powerful  on  the  globe,  and  he  had  saved  it,  too, 
in  accordance  with  the  eternal  principles  of  God. 
The  president  is  to  be  buried  in  Illinois.  Illinois, 
that  has  been  fortunate  enough  to  produce  a 
Grant,  the  ablest  general  in  the  world,  and  Lin- 
coln, the  emancipator  and  sublime  martyr  to  lib- 
erty. The  audience  were  now  going  home  to  carry 
out  the  great  principles  for  which  Lincoln  had 
laid  down  in  life.  He  hoped  some  lurid  bolt  of 
Heaven  would  dash  into  pieces  any  man  who  will 

279 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


defend  the  infamous  system  of  slavery,  whose  evil 
is  crime,  murder,  and  assassination.  He  ended  in 
a  burst  of  eloquence  that  cannot  be  reported  with 
any  degree  of  success.  It  could  not  be  appreciated 
unless  heard. 

After  the  speaking  the  Workingmen's  Society 
formed  in  a  procession,  and,  with  Spencer's  Band 
playing  the  "Dead  March,"  marched  through  the 

Streets.  — peoria    Transcript,    April,    1865. 


280 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA.     ILLINOIS 


THE  PHILOSOPHER 

By   Eugene  Baldwin,   famous  Editor  of  the  Peoria  Star 
February,    1909 


Illinois  has  produced  no  more  bril- 
liant writer  nor  keener  critic  of  current 
events  than  the  late  Eugene  F.  Bald- 
win, founder  and  editor  of  the  Peoria 
Evening  Star. 

His  articles,  under  the  head  "The 
Philosopher,"  were  eagerly  sought  after 
and  gained  national  prominence.  The 
following,  written  shortly  after  the 
Lincoln  centennial  in  1909,  is  from 
the  pen  of  this  gifted  Peorian. 

(B.  C.  B.) 


EUGENE  BALDWIN 

The  Lincoln  celebration  is  over  and  gone.  For 
several  months  it  has  been  duly  exploited.  Such 
another  outpouring  of  editorials,  special  editions 
and  illustrations  by  the  newspapers  and  maga- 
zines, such  a  collection  of  addresses,  speeches,  re- 
miniscences was  never  known  before  on  any  for- 
mer occasion  in  memory  of  any  former  statesman. 
The  danger  is  in  overdoing  the  thing  We  are 
in  peril  of  making  Abraham  Lincoln  the  steel 
plate  engraving  to  which  we  have  already  reduced 
George  Washington. 

Everything  tended  to  heighten  Lincoln's  fame. 
His  tragic  death  and  the  failure  of  the  man  who 

281 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


succeeded  him,  his  own  unassuming  and  modest 
estimate  of  himself,  serve  to  bring  his  character 
into  the  limelight  with  startling  effect.  During  his 
lifetime  he  was  little  regarded.  He  said  himself: 
"I  have  made  many  mistakes."  Even  at  his  death, 
people  did  not  fully  understand  the  service  which 
he  had  rendered  to  the  state. 

On  the  occasion  of  his  death,  Miles  G.  Halpin, 
recorder  of  the  city  of  New  York,  wrote  a  verse 
which  was  widely  copied  at  the  time  and  which 
was  held  to  be  the  best  epitaph  of  the  dead  presi- 
dent. Halpin  had  been  in  the  army  and  as  a  news- 
paper correspondent  he  had  written  a  letter  which 
his  commander  chose  to  consider  as  a  reflection 
upon  the  division  which  he  commanded.  He  there- 
upon had  Halpin  court-martialed  and  sentenced  to 
the  penitentiary.  Halpin  wrote  under  the  signa- 
ture of  "Miles  O'Reilly, "  a  private.  When  Lin- 
coln learned  of  the  proceedings  he  at  once  inter- 
posed and  rescued  Halpin  from  what  had  become  a 
very  awkward  situation.  On  Lincoln's  death, 
therefore,  Halpin  paid  him  this  tribute: 

"And  this  be  his  epitaph  nately  writ, 
Though  traitors  abused  him  vilely 
He  was  honest  and  kindly,  he  loved  a  joke, 
And  he  pardoned  Miles  O'Reilly." 

People  generally  thought  that  this  was  the  fin- 

282 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


est  tribute  that  the  dead  hero  had  received  and  it 
was  copied  far  and  wide.  When  news  of  his  death 
reached  Peoria,  we  were  walking  down  the  street 
with  Enoch  Emery,  at  that  time  proprietor  of  the 
Peoria  Transcript.  Mr.  Emery  was  a  man  of 
affairs.  He  was  confessedly  the  ablest  political 
writer  in  the  State.  He  had  a  good  deal  of  literary 
ability,  and  he  had  been  in  active  politics  for  a 
good  many  years.  As  we  neared  the  Court  House 
square,  Robert  G.  Ingersoll  was  crossing  the  spot 
and  a  crowd  of  his  admirers  stopped  him  and 
asked  him  to  make  a  few  remarks.  As  Emery  and 
ourself  drew  near  the  spot,  Ingersoll  said:  "A  great 
man  has  fallen  in  Israel  this  day.  Abraham  Lin- 
coln will  take  his  station  in  history  by  the  side 
of  George  Washington." 

At  this,  Emery  took  us  by  the  arm  impatiently 
and  walked  away,  saying,  "Why  does  Bob  make 
these  foolish  and  uncalled  for  statements?  The 
idea  that  Abe  Lincoln  will  take  his  station  beside 
George  Washington.  Why,  he'll  be  forgotten  in 
five  years."  This  sentiment  was  universal  at  the 
time.  Part  of  it  came  from — the  humor  that  was 
such  a  strong  element  in  Lincoln's  character.  When 
Charles  Francis  Adams  came  to  Washington  to 
receive  his  instructions  as  minister  to  England,  he 
has   recorded  his   intense  astonishment  at  seeing 

283 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


Lincoln  come  into  the  room,  dressed  in  an  old  coat 
with  the  sleeves  much  too  short  for  his  huge,  bony 
arms,  at  the  end  of  which  swung  an  immense  pair 
of  hands,  while  his  nether  extremities  were  clad  in 
an  old  pair  of  pants  much  too  short,  and  his 
feet  were  encased  in  an  old  pair  of  slippers  worn 
down  at  the  heels. 

Adams  was  the  embodiment  of  New  England 
decorum  and  scholastic  dignity.  He  never  escaped 
the  consciousness  of  his  own  heredity  or  forgot 
for  a  moment  that  he  was  the  grandson  of  John 
Adams  and  the  son  of  John  Quincy  Adams,  and 
at  this  moment  he  had  been  chosen  to  represent 
the  republic  in  the  most  important  foreign  mis- 
sion. Taken  aback  by  the  apparition  of  this  gaunt, 
frowsy,  disheveled  figure,  whose  hair  seemed  to 
have  been  innocent  of  comb  or  brush  for  weeks,  he 
stammered  forth  a  few  sentences  expressive  of  his 
appreciation  of  the  high  honor  that  had  been  con- 
ferred upon  him.  To  his  utter  astonishment,  Lin- 
coln replied:  "Oh,  you'll  have  to  thank  Seward 
for  that.  My  choice  for  the  place  was  N.  P.  Banks 
or  John  C.  Fremont,  with  Dayton  for  minister 
for  France.  But  I  guess  it  is  all  right.  And,  by  the 
way,  Seward,  I've  just  settled  that  Chicago  post- 
office  and  got  that  off  my  hands/' 

284 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


Adams  never  forgot  this  interview,  which  he 
faithfully  recorded  in  his  diary,  and  he  never  could 
get  out  of  his  mind  the  idea  that  Lincoln  was 
tremendously  overrated;  that  he  was  a  lucky  acci- 
dent who  had  by  some  unforeseen  combination  of 
circumstances  tumbled  into  place  and  now  had  no 
higher  conception  of  the  duties  than  to  distribute 
the  offices. 

This  sentiment  was  general  all  through  the 
east.  Walt  Whitman  has  recorded  an  incident  that 
showed  the  popular  feeling.  Mr.  Lincoln  paid  a 
visit  to  New  York  City  and  with  Mrs.  Lincoln 
attended  the  opera.  When  he  alighted  from  the 
carriage,  a  vast  crowd  had  assembled  and  the  presi- 
dent's tall,  gaunt  form  towered  above  the  multi- 
tude. They  looked  at  him  in  silence  and  their  dis- 
appointment at  his  appearance  was  evidenced  in 
the  fact  that  he  was  not  greeted  with  a  single  cheer 
or  expression  of  pleasure  or  sympathy,  and  to  add 
to  their  dislike  they  noted  that  he  wore  a  pair  of 
red  kid  gloves. 

The  president  cared  nothing  for  dress.  This 
came  in  part  from  his  early  training.  As  a  young 
man,  he  went  about  the  streets  of  Salem,  barefoot- 
ed, with  a  pair  of  tow-cloth  trousers,  ''leaving 
six  inches  of  blue  shin  exposed."  One  suspender 
served  to  keep  the  garment  in  place,  and  this  was 

285 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


fastened  sometimes  by  a  shingle  nail,  sometimes 
with  a  wooden  peg.  Clothes  were  with  him  a 
superfluity.  His  usual  headpiece  was  a  tall,  rusty 
narrow-brimmed,  high  silk  hat,  the  nap  worn  off 
and  the  headpiece  only  serving  to  heighten  his 
figure,  which  needed  no  aid  of  that  kind  to  make 
him  remarkable,  for,  as  he  was  six  feet  four  inches 
in  height,  he,  like  Saul,  "towered  above  his  fel- 
lows." Then,  too,  he  had  a  habit  while  sitting 
down  of  winding  his  legs  about  the  legs  of  his 
chair.  The  cultured  people  of  the  east  gazed  with 
astonishment  at  him  as  a  phenomenon  suddenly 
spawned  by  the  west  and  attempting  to  fill  a  place 
whose  previous  occupants  had  been  men  of  cul- 
ture. 

Washington  was  the  best  bred  man  of  his  time. 
Adams,  Jefferson,  Madison,  Monroe — each  was 
familiar  with  foreign  courts.  Jackson's  manners 
were  exquisite.  Van  Buren  was  affability  itself. 
Buchanan  had  a  grave  dignity  that  impressed  his 
auditors.  Pierce  was  one  of  the  most  polite  men  of 
the  age,  and  even  Tyler  had  a  smack  of  the  old 
Virginian  chivalry.  In  the  first  days  of  the  Civil 
War  men  went  in  and  out  of  the  White  House  as 
they  would  to  any  other  office,  and  they  sighed 
when  they  met  the  president  of  the  United  States 

286 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


and  noted  how  deficient  he  was  in  all  the  airs  and 
graces  of  life. 

Most  great  men  are  great  actors.  The  first  Pitt 
always  had  an  eye  to  effect.  His  legs  swathed  in 
flannel  to  protect  him  from  the  gout,  his  crutch, 
the  way  in  which  he  came  into  the  House  of  Com- 
mons borne  by  his  assistants — all  proclaimed  the 
studied  actor.  Every  little  detail  had  been  care- 
fully thought  out  beforehand.  Napoleon  took 
lessons  of  Talma,  the  great  French  tragedian,  "in 
order  to  learn  how  to  act  like  a  king/'  Every- 
thing he  did  was  designed  to  impress  people.  Even 
his  fits  of  rage  were  often  simulated  in  order  to 
gain  his  point,  as,  when  he  seized  the  vase  before 
the  astonished  Venetian  senators  and  smashing  it 
on  the  floor,  cried:  "I  will  smash  your  republic 
as  I  now  ruin  this  vase."  ■ 

Lincoln  was  the  very  opposite  of  all  this.  He 
deprecated  his  own  ability.  He  frequently  said 
that  he  would  cheerfully  resign  if  the  nation  could 
find  some  man  in  whom  it  had  more  confidence. 
He  often  yielded,  even  when  he  knew  he  was  right, 
especially  in  minor  matters,  because  he  distrusted 
his  own  ability.  The  crowning  element  in  his 
character  was  an  unswerving  honesty.  He  never 
lied,  even  to  himself.  His  whole  ambition  was  de- 
voted to  convincing  others  of  the  soundness  of  his 

287 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


position.  In  his  debates  with  Douglas  he  freely 
said:  "No  one  cares  to  hear  me  talk.  I  can  only 
hold  the  crowd  by  assuring  them  that,  after  I  am 
done,  they  shall  have  an  opportunity  of  hearing 
Douglas  skin  me/'  This  faculty  made  him  recep- 
tive. He  was  a  good  listener.  He  was  always  ready 
to  adopt  any  suggestions  that  seemed  to  him  to 
offer  a  more  practical  solution  of  the  difficulties 
that  lay  in  the  way  than  his  own  plan.  He  told 
Greeley,  "I  am  here  to  save  the  Union.  If  I  can 
save  it  with  slavery  I'll  do  it.  If  I  can  save  it  with- 
out slavery  I'll  do  it." 

Little  by  little  he  grew  to  a  full  realization  of 
his  duties.  When  Charles  Francis  Adams  saw  him 
in  1861,  he  was  principally  occupied  in  appointing 
men  to  office.  In  1865  he  had  formulated  a  plan 
for  reconstruction  which  he  believed  to  be  solid 
and  enduring  and  that  was  founded  upon  his  fa- 
mous utterance,  "With  malice  towards  none;  with 
charity  for  all,"  and  he  did  not  hesitate  to  oppose 
Congress,  believing  that  his  own  plan  was  better 
than  that  formulated  by  either  house.  It  was  this 
quality  that  gave  the  common  people  such  con- 
fidence in  him.  They  could  rely  upon  his  word, 
for  he  never  said  anything  merely  for  effect.  He 
was  always  engaged  in  settling  the  matter  he  had 
in  hand  and  settling  it  on  the  broad  basis  of  abso- 
lute justice  and  perfect  fairness. 

288 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


In  this  particular  he  stands  in  striking  contrast 
with  most  of  the  great  men  of  the  world.  Na- 
poleon was  an  awful  liar.  He  never  hesitated  to 
arrogate  to  himself  credit  that  belonged  to  another. 
He  soon  surrounded  himself  with  a  false  atmos- 
phere of  flatterers  and  parasites  and  he  lived  in  an 
atmosphere  of  falsehood.  Ney  lied  to  him;  Talley- 
rand lied  to  him;  Murat  lied  to  him,  and  toward 
the  last  he  found  it  impossible  to  get  the  truth  out 
of  anybody.  In  opposition  to  this,  nobody  lied  to 
Lincoln.  In  fact,  everybody  was  occupied  in  tell- 
ing him  that  he  was  a  failure;  that  his  policy  was 
wrong;  his  estimate  of  his  generals  and  his  choice 
of  men  showed  his  own  incapacity.  Greeley  lec- 
tured him;  Sumner  scolded  him;  Wendell  Phillips 
maligned  him;  Ben  Wade  and  Henry  Winter  Davis 
issued  a  manifesto  against  him;  Chase  openly 
sneered  at  him;  Stanton  refused  to  obey  his  orders, 
and  nobody  seemed  to  be  entirely  happy  unless  he 
was  criticizing  Lincoln  and  giving  him  advice. 

The  other  day  Rabbi  Hirsch  of  Chicago  deliv- 
ered an  address  in  that  city  in  which  he  laid  especial 
emphasis  upon  the  relations  of  Lincoln  and  Carl 
Schurz,  then  the  typical  German  revolutionist. 
Hirsch  said:  "Let  the  young  German  American  of 
today  study  the  life  of  Lincoln,  the  man  who  led 
this  young  man,  fresh  from  an  apparently  fruit- 
19  289 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

less  struggle  against  the  form  of  slavery  which 
existed  in  Germany  to  a  wider  field  of  service  to  his 
fellowmen,  and  who  utilized  Schurz's  love  of  the 
Fatherland  in  the  building  of  a  broader  patriotism 
for  the  country  of  his  adoption." 

Here  is  an  indication  of  how  men  falsify  his- 
tory. In  the  convention  of  1860  Schurz  led  the 
Wisconsin  Republican  delegation.  He  was  an  ar- 
dent admirer  of  William  H.  Seward  and  voted  the 
Wisconsin  delegation  up  to  the  very  last  for  that 
gentleman.  He  went  home  to  Wisconsin  greatly 
disgruntled,  and  it  was  only  after  some  weeks  that 
he  delivered  an  address  in  Milwaukee,  in  which  he 
took  the  ground  that  while  the  best  man  had  not 
been  selected  by  the  Chicago  convention,  yet  per- 
haps the  Republicans  of  the  Badger  State  ought  to 
support  the  ticket  as  a  matter  of  policy.  During 
the  war  he  was  one  of  the  most  drastic  critics  of 
Lincoln,  and  he  finally  wore  out  the  patience  of 
that  great  man.  Lincoln  then  wrote  a  letter  to 
Schurz,  which  is  a  perfect  model  of  lofty  common 
sense  and  stern  rebuke  for  the  latter's  course.  In 
it  Lincoln  told  him:  "Some  people  think  that  you 
have  performed  your  part  as  poorly  as  you  think 
I  have  done  mine."  The  fact  of  it  was,  Schurz 
failed  as  a  military  man,  for  Stonewall  Jackson 
mopped    the   ground   with   him,    and   his   course 

290 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


politically  was  that  of  a  grumbler  and  a  knocker. 
He  caused  Lincoln  a  good  deal  of  trouble  and  he 
caused  Grant  an  infinite  sight  more,  for  he  was 
chairman  of  the  Cincinnati  convention  in  1872 
that  nominated  Greeley.  He  wasn't  even  true  to 
that  convention,  for  he  shortly  afterwards  de- 
nounced Greeley  as  an  incapable.  To  say  now  that 
Lincoln  and  Schurz  sustained  the  relation  of 
teacher  and  scholar  is  entirely  wrong  and  mislead- 
ing. 

This  is  the  way  in  which  facts  are  distorted  and 
history  becomes  a  jumble  of  distorted  views. 
Solemn  delegations  called  upon  Lincoln  and,  when 
he  parried  their  attacks  by  a  story,  they  groaned 
and  went  away.  Old-line  abolitionists  took  no 
sort  of  stock  in  him.  Wendell  Phillips  issued  a 
pamphlet  against  him,  the  heading  of  which  was: 
"Abraham  Lincoln,  the  Slave  Hound  of  Illinois." 
On  August  14,  1864,  such  leading  men  as  Sena- 
tor Wade  of  Ohio,  Henry  Winter  Davis  of  Mary- 
land, Governor  Andrews  of  Massachusetts,  Sam- 
uel Bowles  of  the  Springfield  (Mass.)  Republican 
and  Horace  Greeley  of  the  New  York  Tribune 
met  in  New  York  and  solemnly  resolved  that  Mr. 
Lincoln  was  not  the  choice  of  the  convention;  that 
the  convention  that  nominated  him  in  Philadel- 
phia in  June  of  the  preceding  year  was  packed  by 

291 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

his  officeholders,  and  that,  under  these  circumstan- 
ces, he  ought  to  get  out  of  the  way  and  allow  the 
party  to  concentrate  upon  Fremont  and  Cochrane, 
who  had  been  nominated  in  Cleveland  a  short  time 
before  and  by  the  radical  wing. 

A  great  many  good  people  were  caught  by  this 
effusion.  Charles  Sumner  narrowly  escaped  being 
drawn  into  it,  and  probably  would  have  been  if 
the  conspirators  had  not  formulated  their  plans 
before  they  consulted  him.  During  this  time  Anna 
Dickinson  came  to  Peoria  to  deliver  a  lecture. 
Anna  was  then  at  the  height  of  her  powers.  She 
was  regarded  as  the  seer  and  prophetess  of  the  Re- 
publican party.  She  stood  up  in  Rouse's  hall  and 
for  two  hours  she  derided  and  abused  Lincoln  as 
a  colossal  failure,  as  a  man  who  had  no  apprecia- 
tion of  the  difficulties  of  his  position  and  as  a  per- 
son totally  unfit  to  be  entrusted  with  dealing  with 
the  old  slaveholders. 

This  sentiment  was  so  common  that  after  his 
death  a  leading  divine  in  New  York  said  that  pos- 
sibly Lincoln's  assassination  was  a  providential 
interposition  because  his  yielding  nature  would 
prevent  him  from  handling  the  slaveholders  with 
that  severity  which  their  offenses  merited.  God 
had  therefore  taken  Lincoln  away  in  order  to  pre- 
pare the  way  for  Andrew  Johnson,  who  would 

292 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


exemplify  the  stern  virtues  of  Andrew  Jackson 
and  mete  out  the  terrors  of  the  law  to  the  secession- 
ists. 

Those  of  us  who  lived  through  those  stirring 
times  can  recall  with  feelings  of  astonishment  how 
little  we  knew  of  the  work  which  the  Great  Eman- 
cipator wrought,  and  how  even  his  friends  failed 
to  appreciate  the  rugged  virtues  of  his  character, 
or  understand  what  a  grasp  he  had  on  the  situa- 
tion. Not  until  he  was  dead  and  the  general  burst 
of  sorrow  from  the  common  people  echoed  and  re- 
echoed around  the  world,  did  we  understand  the 
man.  He  was  out  of  touch  with  the  cultured  and 
scholastic  element.  They  never  did  acquire  a 
proper  understanding  of  his  intellect.  They  looked 
upon  him  as  a  huge,  good-natured,  uncouth  fig- 
ure who  had  to  be  restrained  and  directed  by  such 
men  as  Thad  Stevens  in  the  House  and  by  Stanton 
and  Chase  in  the  Cabinet. 

Hon.  Clark  E.  Carr  of  Galesburg  has  written  a 
book  in  which  he  has  given  the  incidents  that  led 
up  to  Lincoln's  speech  at  Gettysburg.  People  write 
about  it  now,  dwell  upon  the  fact  that  the  address 
was  listened  to  with  awe-struck  wonder  by  his 
auditors,  and  that  at  the  close  they  burst  into  a 
long,  loud  chorus  of  approval.  The  truth  of  it  is, 
as  Carr  showed,  there  was  opposition  among  the 

293 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


commissioners  to  inviting  Mr.  Lincoln,  on  the 
ground  that  he  was  unable  to  make  an  address 
upon  an  occasion  like  this.  His  whole  forte  lay 
upon  the  stump.  The  effort  of  the  commission 
was  to  exploit  Edward  Everett.  In  order  to  give 
that  eminent  orator  time  to  prepare  his  address, 
the  dedication  was  postponed  for  two  months. 
Mr.  Lincoln  read  his  great  speech  from  manu- 
script, the  closing  portion  of  which  he  wrote  in  a 
room  at  Gettysburg.  It  made  no  particular  im- 
pression. In  fact,  it  was  over  before  most  of  the 
audience  knew  that  he  was  talking.  A  photogra- 
pher was  preparing  to  take  a  picture  of  the  scene, 
but  while  he  was  getting  ready  Mr.  Lincoln  fin- 
ished and  sat  down. 

Nor  did  the  address  attract  any  particular  atten- 
tion until  it  went  across  the  water  and  was  re- 
published in  The  Scotsman,  a  paper  in  Edinburgh. 
The  editor  was  an  old  Calvinistic  divine.  He  re- 
published the  speech  and  declared  that  nothing  like 
it  had  been  given  to  the  world  since  the  oration  of 
Pericles  at  Marathon.  Then  it  went  with  a  rush. 
Mr.  Carr  left  on  record  the  fact  that  after  Lincoln 
had  finished  Ward  Lamon  asked  Mr.  Everett  what 
he  thought  of  it,  and  Mr.  Everett  said:  "I  am 
greatly  disappointed  in  it.  The  effect  was  entirely 
unworthy  of  him." 

294 


ABRAHAM.     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

Through  all  these  obstacles  and  in  the  face  of 
appalling  difficulties,  Lincoln  took  his  weary  way. 
He  was  beset  on  every  side  by  pitfalls  more  dan- 
gerous than  open  enemies,  indiscreet  advisers,  am- 
bitious rivals,  foolish  detractors  and  men  whose 
only  idea  was  self-aggrandizement.  He  said  him- 
self, "I  turn  out  one  set  of  thieves  only  to  put  in 
another  and  a  hungrier  lot." 

Not  until  we  take  into  account  all  of  these  facts 
do  we  appreciate  the  work  which  this  great  man 
wrought.  Truly,  he  bore  a  burden  greater  than 
that  laid  upon  the  shoulders  of  any  other  man 
since  the  world  began.  He  was  often  baffled.  He 
was  not  seldom  defeated.  He  was  called  to  account 
by  impatient  patriots  who  wanted  immediate 
results.  His  political  rivals  were  fond  of  caricatur- 
ing his  homely  features.  The  name  which  he  was 
designated  in  the  Democratic  papers  was  "The  Old 
Baboon."  The  Copper-head  sheets  invariably  al- 
luded to  him  as  "The  Smutty  Old  Tyrant  in  the 
White  House."  High  position  bore  heavily  upon 
him.  He  lost  his  children  at  a  time  when  the  bur- 
dens of  the  rebellion  seemed  too  great  to  be  borne. 
Even  the  occasion  of  his  death  was  made  the  text 
by  some  perfervid  religious  people  as  a  penalty 
for  having  gone  to  the  theatre. 

Out  of  all  these  perils  he  emerged  because  of 

295 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


his  undoubted  honesty  and  sterling  integrity.  The 
ordinary  tricks  of  the  politician  he  discarded.  He 
steadily  rose  to  an  appreciation  of  the  enormous 
task  and  he,  better  than  any  other  man,  rightly 
judged  the  condition  by  which  peace  was  possible. 
Had  the  Union  armies  been  invariably  successful  at 
the  beginning  of  the  war,  we  should  probably  still 
be  called  upon  to  deal  with  the  problem  of  slavery, 
but  out  of  defeat  and  failure  and  loss  he  finally 
solved  the  difficulty.  It  is  his  glory  that  he  went 
no  faster  than  the  public  were  able  to  follow  him, 
and  almost  alone  of  great  men  his  character  has 
grown  with  the  succeeding  years,  so  that  he  stands 
today  unique  in  the  fact  that  he  represents  the 
great  common  people.  He  is  the  popular  tribune, 
the  embodiment  of  the  wants,  desires,  hopes  and 
ambitions  of  the  common  man. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  falsify  his  character,  or  to 
change  in  any  particular  the  record.  His  humor 
was  like  that  of  Rabelais.  He  was  as  broad  as 
Shakespeare.  He  possessed  the  profound  common 
sense  of  Franklin,  the  lofty  integrity  of  Washing- 
ton. He  was  as  perfect  a  master  of  English  as  Pitt 
or  Gladstone.  As  a  leader  of  men  he  surpassed  in 
judgment  Thomas  Jefferson,  and  in  his  capacity 
to  forestall  public  sentiment  and  catch  the  popu- 
lar   drift   he    was   equaled   by    Andrew    Jackson 

296 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


alone.    These  qualities  made  him  great,  not  only 
in  his  day  and  generation,  but  for  all  time. 

Every  effort,  therefore,  to  round  and  smooth 
the  angularities  of  this  colossal  nature  only  dwarfs 
and  enfeebles  them.  He  was  not  a  smooth,  marble 
shaft,  polished  by  attrition  and  bearing  the  marks 
of  the  chisel  and  the  engraver's  tool,  but  a  huge, 
granite  boulder  cut  out  of  the  mountain,  without 
hands,  but  dominating  by  its  very  size  and  quality 
the  circumstances  that  surrounded  it.  Before  him 
his  contemporaries  fade  away  and  are  lost.  Seward 
and  Chase,  Sumner  and  Greeley,  Phillips  and 
Andrews,  Bowles  and  Blair  and  Cameron  dwindle 
into  insignificance.  Lincoln  stands  the  great,  col- 
ossal figure  of  the  nineteenth  century.  It  began 
with  Napoleon,  born  amid  the  gloom  and  hor- 
rors of  the  French  revolution.  It  ended  with  Lin- 
coln, the  emancipator  of  a  race,  the  great  exemplar 
of  the  rights  of  the  common  people. 


297 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


NEW  LIGHT  ON  LINCOLN-DOUGLAS 
DEBATE  IN  PEORIA 

New  interest  in  the  historic  Lincoln-Douglas 
debate,  held  in  Peoria,  October  16,  1854,  is 
aroused  by  additional  information  which  comes 
in  Frank  E.  Stevens'  "Life  of  Stephen  Arnold 
Douglas."  This  book  is  published  by  the  Illinois 
State  Historical  Society. 

In  the  section  of  the  volume  which  describes 
the  interesting  events  of  1854,  a  year  in  which 
politics  became  strenuous  and  in  which  excitement 
over  Douglas'  threatened  rise  in  politics  had 
brought  pandemonium  to  the  anti-Douglas  forces, 
Mr.  Stevens  branches  off  to  the  meeting  of  Lin- 
coln and  Douglas  in  Peoria,  as  follows: 

At  the  close  of  the  political  tournament,  the 
friends  of  Lincoln  became  so  enthusiastic  over  his 
anti-Nebraska  speech  that  William  Butler  drew 
up  a  paper  addressed  to  Lincoln,  requesting  and 
"urging  him  to  follow  Douglas  up  until  election." 
The  paper  was  signed  by  Butler,  Dr.  William 
Jayne,  P.  P.  Eads,  John  Cassaday,  B.  F.  Irwin  and 
others.  Needless  to  state,  Lincoln  accepted  the 
invitation.  The  constant  and  great  successes  of 
Douglas  obtaining  distinction  were  offensive  to 
the   ambitions   of   Lincoln,    who    "was   intensely 

298 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


jealous  of  him  and  longed  to  pull  him  down  or 
outstrip  him  in  the  race  for  popular  favor."  While 
between  the  two  men  there  existed  a  friendship 
which  was  sincere  as  between  men,  between  them 
as  politicians  a  rivalry  existed  which  affected  Lin- 
coln the  stronger  because  Douglas  had  been  invar- 
iably successful  in  distancing  the  other  in  the  race 
for  public  favor.  They  met  at  Peoria  in  joint 
debate,  Douglas  enjoying  the  opening  and  close. 
At  that  meeting  Lincoln  made  substantially  the 
same  speech  he  made  at  Springfield,  and  while 
attacking  Douglas  and  his  Popular  Sovereignty 
dogma,  and  while  it  must  be  admitted  he  discom- 
fited Douglas  more  than  at  any  other  time,  it  is 
noteworthy  that  he  offered  no  substitute.  He 
said: 

"When  southern  people  tell  us  they  are  no  more 
responsible  for  the  origin  of  slavery  than  we,  I 
acknowledge  the  fact.  When  it  is  said  that  the 
institution  exists,  and  that  it  is  very  difficult  to  get 
rid  of  it  in  any  satisfactory  way,  I  can  understand 
and  appreciate  the  saying.  I  surely  will  not  blame 
them  for  not  doing  what  I  should  not  know  how 
to  do  myself.  If  all  earthly  power  were  given  me, 
I  should  not  know  what  to  do  as  to  the  existing 
institution." 

Again:    "When  they  remind  us  of  their  consti- 

299 


ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


tutional  rights,  I  acknowledge  them,  not  grudg- 
ingly, but  fully  and  fairly;  and  I  would  give 
them  any  legislation  for  the  reclaiming  of  their 
fugitives  which  should  not  in  its  stringency  be 
more  likely  to  carry  a  free  man  into  slavery  than 
our  ordinary  criminal  laws  are  to  hang  an  inno- 
cent one." 

There  was  little  difference  in  the  contentions 
of  the  men  upon  the  abstract  question  of  slavery. 
It  then  remained  for  them  to  discuss  the  repeal, 
and  that  they  did  Douglas  speaking  from  a 
knowledge  of  the  demands  made  upon  him  by  his 
party  and  a  knowledge  of  what  might  have  been 
attempted  or  substituted  had  he  not  accepted  the 
Dixon  amendment,  and  Lincoln  speaking  from 
the  outside  standpoint  of  hostility  against  the  ac- 
tion which  disturbed  present  tranquillity  and  gave 
to  slavery  the  right  to  enter  free  territory  even 
though  it  were  but  the  right  to  have  a  vote  upon 
the  question  We  are  told  that  he  proposed  a  truce 
with  Lincoln,  agreeing  to  leave  the  stump  alto- 
gether if  Lincoln  would  do  the  same.  Lincoln 
agreed.  Handbills  had  been  distributed  at  Lacon, 
announcing  the  appearance  of  Douglas  the  fol- 
lowing day  to  speak.  At  once  the  anti-Nebraska 
people  sent  to  Peoria  to  ask  Lincoln  to  reply  and 
he  agreed.    But  having  agreed  together  to  quit  the 

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ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

stump  Douglas  upon  his  arrival  there  pleaded  his 
excessive  hoarseness  and  Lincoln  "informed  his 
friends  that  he  would  not  like  to  take  advantage 
of  the  judge's  indisposition  and  would  not  address 
the  people."  They  separated  then  and  there  for 
the  season. 

Certain  partisan  writers  have  censured  Douglas 
because  while  at  Tiskilwa  he  permitted  Lovejoy 
to  inveigle  him  into  another  debate  at  Princeton. 
Lovejoy  challenged  him.  To  refuse  would  be 
argued  to  imply  cowardice.  To  comply  meant  to 
break  the  truce  and  lay  himself  open  to  the  charge 
of  perfidy.  Stung  with  the  bantering  existence  of 
Lovejoy,  who  was  unable  as  Lincoln  to  take  care 
of  the  repeal  measure,  he  yielded  and  spoke. 

While  some  have  censured  Douglas  for  that  act, 
the  fact  has  been  overlooked  entirely  or  purposely 
omitted  that  Lincoln  went  over  to  Urbana  and 
in  the  court  house  there  made  an  anti-Nebraska 
speech  on  October  24th  without  an  aggravating 
challenge  like  that  made  to  Douglas  to  induce  it. 

Inasmuch  as  the  hand  of  the  iconoclast  has 
been  at  work  upon  the  Peoria  truce  between  Doug- 
las and  Lincoln  in  1854,  the  writer  fortunately 
has  been  furnished  by  Hon.  Horace  White  of  New 
York  City  with  an  item  of  evidence  which  must 

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ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


substantiate  that  which  has  never  been  doubted 
in  Illinois  before  the  present  moment:  the  desire 
of  Douglas  at  Peoria  to  discontinue  their  meetings 
for  that  campaign. 

At  the  time  of  the  Peoria  meeting,  Hon.  Wil- 
liam C.  Goudy,  the  warm  friend  of  Douglas,  lived 
at  Lewistown,  Fulton  county,  adjoining  Peoria 
county.  The  night  before  the  Peoria  meeting  was 
spent  by  Douglas  at  the  home  of  Mr.  Goudy,  who 
very  soon  detected  a  more  than  noticeable  nervous- 
ness in  his  guest. 

"Judge  Douglas,  you  appear  to  be  ill  at  ease 
and  under  some  mental  agitation;  it  cannot  be 
that  you  have  any  anxiety  with  reference  to  the 
outcome  of  the  debate  that  you  are  to  have  with 
Lincoln;  you  cannot  have  any  doubt  as  to  your 
ability  to  dispose  of  him?"  asked  Goudy. 

Stopping  abruptly  his  rapid  pace  backward  and 
forward  across  the  room,  Douglas  answered  with 
great  emphasis:  "Yes,  Goudy,  I  am  troubled,  and 
deeply  troubled,  over  the  progress  and  outcome  of 
this  debate.  I  have  known  Lincoln  for  many 
years,  and  have  continually  met  him  in  debate.  I 
regard  him  as  the  most  difficult  and  dangerous  op- 
ponent that  I  have  ever  met,  and  I  have  serious 
misgiving  as  to  what  may  be  the  result  of  this 
joint  debate." 

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ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 

The  Peoria  Republican  of  October  20,  1854, 
gives  color  to  the  story: 

"He  was  entitled,  according  to  the  terms  of  the 
discussion,  to  an  hour  after  Mr.  Lincoln  had  con- 
cluded. He  arose  to  reply,  but  he  had  very  little 
to  say.  He  had  talked  himself  hoarse  in  the  after- 
noon, and  with  his  voice  had  gone  his  arguments. 
He  made  a  feeble  effort  to  collect  them,  but  soon 
became  conscious  that  the  rout  was  complete.  The 
people  saw,  and  it  is  scarcely  too  severe  to  assert 
that  he  himself  saw,  that  the  alluring  picture  of 
'self-government'  that  he  had  drawn  had  been,  by 
the  magical  wand  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  obliterated — 
converted  into  'airy  nothing/  and  proved  to  be 
'the  baseless  fabric  of  a  dream/ 

Dr.  William  Jayne,  one  of  those  who  signed  the 
request  for  Lincoln  to  follow  up  Douglas,  attests 
the  truthfulness  of  the  truce  in  a  letter: 

January  16th,  1909. 
F.  E.  Stevens. 
Dear  Sir: 

Your  letter  of  January  14th  received.  Mr. 
Herndon's  statement  about  the  arrangement  en- 
tered into  between  Lincoln  and  Douglas  to  quit 
speaking  in  the  campaign,  is  correct.  This  occurred 
at  Peoria,  October,  1854.    On  account  of  hoarse- 

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ABRAHAM     LINCOLN     IN     PEORIA,     ILLINOIS 


ness,  Mr.  Douglas  desired  to  close  the  campaign. 
Mr.  Lincoln  complied  with  the  request  made  by 
Douglas.  Yours  truly, 

W.  JAYNE. 
If  you  desire,   you  can  make  any  use  of  my 
letter  you  see  proper. 


304 


A  SUMMARY  OP 
OUTSTANDING  FEATURES 

PUBLISHED   IN 

"ABRAHAM  LINCOLN 
IN  PEORIA,  ILLINOIS" 


A  facsimile  of  Lincoln's  speech  in  Peo- 
ria on  the  night  of  October  16,  1854, 
which  took  three  hours  to  deliver,  as 
written  and  edited  by  Lincoln  himself. 

A  new  picture  of  Lincoln  that  has  not 
before  been  published. 

Robert  G.  Ingersoll's  famous  tribute  to 
Lincoln. 

A  former  (smaller)  edition  of  "Lincoln 
in  Peoria,   Illinois,"  complete. 

Judge  Douglas'  address  on  the  afternoon 
of  October  16,  1854,  to  which  Lincoln 
replied  in  the  evening  (n^ver  before  pub- 
lished in  book  form) . 

Delightfully  intimate  stories  of  early 
days  in  Peoria  and  the  Middle  West — all 
built  around  Lincoln. 

The  famous  Herndon  (Lincoln's  law 
partner)  Broadside  about  Lincoln  in  Peo- 
ria, a  valuable  historical  document. 

Facsimile  reproductions  of  notes  in 
Lincoln's  handwriting  referring  to  his 
Peoria  speech. 

A  story  of  Lincoln  in  Peoria  in  1832 — 
when  he  was  23,  illustrated. 

Facsimile  copy  of  four-page  paper, 
Peoria  City  Record,  published  March  4, 
1854. 

Facsimile  of  the  invitation  extended  to 
Abraham  Lincoln  to  answer  Judge  Doug- 
las on  October  16,  1854,  signed  by 
many  Peorians. 

Full-page  map  of  the  State  of  Illinois 
published  in  1857,  showing  the  old  land 
trails,  many  of  them  traveled  by  Abraham 
Lincoln. 

Etching  of  Casper  Ccnant  the  close 
friend  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  who  painted 
the  smiling  portrait  of  him  from  life,  and 
interesting  historical  matter  by  Grant 
Wright,  noted  New  York  artist,  and  a 
former  Peorian. 

Charles  Overall,  a  Peoria  artist,  has 
painted  two  remarkable  Historical  Pic- 
tures depicting  the  night  of  October  16, 
1854.  One  vividly  portrays  the  thousands 
of  interested  listeners  gathered  before  the 
old  Peoria  County  Court  House;  the  other 
a  close-up  of  Lincoln  as  he  stood,  in 
characteristic  pose,  before  the  vast  audi- 
ence. 

Address  by  Robert  G.  Ingersoll,  deliv- 
ered at  the  time  of  Lincoln's  assassination, 
never  before  published  in  book  form. 

Eugene  Baldwin's  famous  tribute  to 
Abraham  Lincoln. 


